PHILOSOPHY
I have always been curious about the way a place stays with me.
Not through its appearance alone, but through the atmosphere it leaves behind. The quality of light moving across a wall. The quiet weight of stone beneath our feet. Salt carried by the wind. Long after leaving, these moments continue to surface, quietly shaping the way I create.
My practice begins there.
Every collection starts by feeling a place rather than trying to represent it. Rather than documenting what I see, I am interested in what remains. Through painting, ceramics, sculpture, and site responsive installations, I distil these impressions into works that evoke not a specific location, but the emotional landscape it leaves behind.
I move fluidly between painting, architecture, interiors, and object design without seeing them as separate disciplines. They are different expressions of the same enquiry into place, materiality, and the ways we inhabit the world. Whether creating a painting, designing a space, or making a vessel, the process always begins with observation, listening, and allowing a place to reveal its own character.
Born in Rome and now based in Sydney, my practice is shaped by the dialogue between two landscapes. Italy instilled in me a deep appreciation for history, craftsmanship, and proportion. Australia taught me to notice light, openness, and the quiet beauty of the natural world.
Ultimately, my work is an exploration of place. Each collection seeks to translate atmosphere into form, creating works that invite contemplation and a deeper connection to memory, material, and the spaces that shape our lives.
BIOGRAPHY
Gaia Starace is an Italian-born artist, architect, and designer based in Sydney, Australia. Working across painting, ceramics, sculpture, installation, and spatial design, her multidisciplinary practice explores the relationship between place, materiality, memory, and the ways we inhabit our environments.
Born and educated in Rome, Gaia holds a Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Rome La Sapienza and a Master of Art, graduating with Excellence, from the University of New South Wales Art and Design in Sydney. Her architectural background continues to inform her artistic practice through an enduring interest in proportion, atmosphere, craftsmanship, and the emotional qualities of space.
Drawing inspiration from the dialogue between her Italian heritage and the Australian landscape, Gaia develops collections that translate observations of light, landscape, and material into contemporary works that exist between abstraction and spatial experience. Her practice extends beyond the studio into interiors, object design, and site-responsive installations, where art and design become part of a unified creative language.
Her work has been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions throughout Australia and internationally, including London, and is held in private collections. Alongside her artistic practice, Gaia is the Founder and Creative Director of Gaia Starace Design, where she works across interior architecture, art direction, and creative consultancy. She is also a Lecturer in Interior Design at TAFE NSW, contributing to the education of the next generation of designers.
Gaia holds dual Australian and Italian citizenship and lives and works in Sydney.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2026 (Forthcoming, December), Il Gesto del Ritorno, Spazio Cupra, Rome, Italy
2025, CASA / HOUSE: At the Edge of the Blue Mountains, Gang Gang Gallery, Lithgow, Australia
2025, CASA / HOUSE: Interior of Abstract Memories, The Art Space on The Concourse, Willoughby City Council, Sydney, Australia
2023, Forever Clouds, The Incinerator Art Space, Willoughby City Council, Sydney, Australia
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2026 (forthcoming) HOME GROWN, Emerge Festival, The Art Space on The Concourse, Willoughby City Council, Sydney, Australia
2024, Form & Flesh, Herk Alexander Gallery, Stanmore, Sydney, Australia
2022, Stretch, The Art Space on The Concourse, Willoughby City Council, Sydney, Australia
2021, Opening, Curated by Sergio Gomez. Presented by Art NXT Level and ArtPlacer (Online)
2020, Summer Rain, The Brick Lane Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2020, Enigma, The Brick Lane Gallery, London, United Kingdom
2019, The Square and the Circle: A Space of Playfulness & Contemplation, UNSW Art & Design Annual Exhibition, Kudos Gallery, Sydney, Australia
2019, The Square and the Circle: A Space of Playfulness & Contemplation, Capstone Project Exhibition, Comber Street Studios, Sydney, Australia
2019, Moon Rings, NOX Night Sculpture Walk, Randwick, Sydney, Australia
2018, This Is What I Have to Show For It, Gaffa Gallery, Sydney, Australia
PUBLICATIONS
2026 (forthcoming), Sabbia Residence, Artist Catalogue. Gaia Starace Studio.
2026 (forthcoming), The Conscious Edit, Kate St James. Selected artworks featured.
2025, CASA / HOUSE: The Book, Artist Catalogue.
2025, Where Is My Balloon? Book 1: How to Discover Creativity, ISBN 978-1-763-5543-1-3
2024 , Curatorial Volume 3, Capsules Book. Artist Profile., https://capsulesbook.com/
2020, Vasari21 Newsletter Archives, Speaking of Critics and More Thanks to Donors.
2019, Capstone Project, Uchida, M. Capstone Project. UNSW Art & Design, Sydney.
2019, NOX Night Sculpture Walk, Randwick City Council. Exhibition Programme.
2018, This Is What I Have to Show For It, Cawthorn, M. Exhibition Publication. UNSW Art & Design.
MEDIA & PRESS
2025, CASA / HOUSE: Interior of Abstract Memories, Art Collector, https://artcollector.net.au/gallery-event/gaia-starace-casa-house-interior-of-abstract-memories/
2025, CASA / HOUSE: Interior of Abstract Memories, Willoughby City Council – Art Space on The Concourse, https://www.willoughby.nsw.gov.au/Events/CASA-HOUSE-Interior-of-Abstract-Memories
2023, Forever Clouds, Art Collector, https://artcollector.net.au/gallery-event/gaia-starace-forever-clouds/
2023, Forever Clouds, Willoughby City Council – The Incinerator Art Space
2021, Stretch, Art Guide Australia 2021. Exhibition listing.
2026, I colori dell’Australia (forthcoming), an artist film documenting the development of the collection and Il Gesto del Ritorno exhibition, Rome, Italy.
2025, CASA / HOUSE: Interior of Abstract Memories, Artist film documenting the solo exhibition at The Art Space on The Concourse, Sydney.
2023, Forever Clouds: The Making, a short film documenting the development of the exhibition Forever Clouds.
ARTIST FILMS
EDUCATION & TEACHING
2020, Master of Arts (Graduated with Excellence), UNSW Art & Design, Sydney, Australia
2001, Bachelor of Architecture, La Sapienza Universita’ di Roma, Italy
2001, Registered Architect, Board of Architects, Rome, Italy (professional Affiliation)
2025 – Present, Interior Design Lecturer, TAFE NSW, Design Centre Enmore, Sydney, Australia
CONTACT
For exhibition enquiries, commissions, collaborations, acquisitions, or media requests, please contact: