Contemporary abstract artist Gina Keatley has announced "Motto Motto," a new five-painting acrylic-on-canvas series developed between New York City and Akō, Japan. The series arrives at a pivotal moment: Keatley is completing the ownership transition of Bushwick Gallery in Brooklyn and expanding Salt Road Studio, an artist-led platform in Akō focused on contemporary art, publishing, international exchange, and future residency programming. Together, these developments signal a significant geographic and institutional shift in her practice, one that moves beyond a single-city identity toward a broader international framework.
The title "Motto Motto" derives from the Japanese word motto, meaning "more." Repeated, the phrase becomes both an instruction and a rhythm—a commitment to continue beyond the moment when a painting first appears resolved. That ethos is embedded in the five works: More Depth, More Motion, More Expanse, More Resonance, and More Cadence. Each measures 48 by 36 inches and features layers of acrylic, scrapes, veils, interruptions, and rebuilds across blush, cream, sand, smoke, and pale earth tones. Faint flashes of mandarin orange, introduced through Keatley's raindrop technique, bring energy to the quieter palette while darker marks and fragments remain visible beneath.
"Motto Motto is about pushing past the first point where a painting feels finished," Keatley says. "It is about taking more from the process. More time, more movement, more pressure, more room to see what the work can become." This approach is not merely technical; it reflects a deeper philosophy of persistence that resonates with her transcontinental movement. Rather than illustrating Japan, the series treats movement between New York and Akō as a working condition. Distance, atmosphere, and cultural experience enter the paintings through process instead of literal imagery. Accumulation, revision, and return become the shared structure connecting the five canvases.
The institutional dimension of this shift is equally important. After founding and directing Bushwick Gallery, Keatley is completing the gallery's ownership transition while turning greater attention toward Salt Road Studio. The Akō-based initiative connects her New York practice with the Seto Inland Sea region and is being developed to support contemporary art, artist-led publishing, international exchange, and future residency programming. This move positions Keatley not only as an artist but as a cultural bridge between two distinct art worlds, potentially fostering new opportunities for cross-cultural dialogue and collaboration.
Viewers can explore the series and press images at https://untamedmoderns.com/gina-keatley-motto-motto-series/. The work itself feels weathered and newly made at once: soft in palette, yet insistent in presence. Each painting carries its own cadence while remaining part of a shared visual language built through touch, interruption, and persistence. "Motto Motto" marks a continued refinement of Keatley's abstract practice and a transition toward a broader international framework for her work, underscoring the growing relevance of artist-led initiatives that transcend national borders.
Keatley is a contemporary abstract artist working between New York City and Akō, Japan. Her practice explores place, movement, memory, material tension, and what she describes as power through fragility. Her work is characterized by layered surfaces, restrained palettes, gestural interruption, and a recurring use of mandarin orange. She is the founder of Salt Road Studio and the founder and former director of Bushwick Gallery. Untamed Moderns is an independent contemporary art platform presenting the work and projects of Gina Keatley. Based in New York with a growing connection to Akō, Japan, it publishes new bodies of work and artist-led initiatives, including Salt Road Studio. Learn more at https://untamedmoderns.com.
