Gabbiani Returns to Encaustic in Nom de Guerre
Wilding Cran Gallery in Los Angeles presents Francesca Gabbiani's third exhibition with the gallery, spanning encaustic painting and bronze sculpture.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Fine Art
Wilding Cran Gallery presents Nom de Guerre, an exhibition of Francesca Gabbiani's work that marks her return to encaustic. The show spans encaustic painting and bronze sculpture and is the artist's third exhibition with the gallery.
Why it matters
The exhibition draws on the legacy of pseudonyms adopted by revolutionaries, offering Los Angeles art audiences a new body of work built around a historically charged idea. Its use of encaustic and bronze places the artist's practice in direct dialogue with traditional materials.
The exhibition is Gabbiani's third with Wilding Cran Gallery and combines encaustic painting with bronze sculpture, including a bronze-patinated broom resting on the gallery floor. The source does not specify dates or pricing for individual works.
The players
Francesca Gabbiani
Francesca Gabbiani is a Montreal-born artist, born in 1965, whose practice spans encaustic painting and bronze sculpture.
Wilding Cran Gallery
Wilding Cran Gallery is a Los Angeles contemporary art gallery that has presented three exhibitions of Gabbiani's work.
The details
The show is inspired by Gabbiani's two-sided artist's book, Bible, whose sides are titled Nom de Dieu! and Nom de Guerre. Encaustic canvases feature carved surfaces that reveal layered color beneath a cloudy haze of white wax, while other canvases take inspiration from the dispersal of dandelion seeds.
Timeline
2026: Gabbiani's solo exhibition Nom de Guerre opens at Wilding Cran Gallery in Los Angeles.
Culture Shift
The exhibition extends the historical tradition of nom de guerre pseudonyms, adopted by revolutionaries to shield their identities, into a contemporary art practice centered on plants linked to fertility and visionary ceremony. It reframes a centuries-old naming practice as a lens for examining material and bodily autonomy.
Visitors to Wilding Cran Gallery in Los Angeles can view the exhibition in person. The source does not list ticketing, admission, or additional viewing options.
The takeaway
Nom de Guerre shows how a historical naming practice can anchor a contemporary art project. Readers interested in how artists reinterpret traditional materials like encaustic wax can follow the exhibition at Wilding Cran Gallery.
Further reading
Explore more Fine Art coverage to see how contemporary painters and sculptors are reworking traditional materials.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Artdaily.
