Giselle Fenig is an artist born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1969, who moved to Mexico City at the age of four and makes layered abstract works that she treats as an external expression of her inner self. Two of her mixed-media works on paper are currently available at Art of NOMA: Untitled I and Untitled II, both made in 2021.
Who Is Giselle Fenig, From Brooklyn to Mexico City?
Giselle Fenig was born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1969, and moved to Mexico City when she was four years old. The biography on her Giselle Fenig artist page is brief, and it spends almost none of its words on milestones. Instead, it describes how she works and why, which is a useful signal about where to look when you stand in front of one of her pieces.
According to that biography, her creative process is deeply personal, and her art is an external manifestation of her inner self, her emotions and her energy. That is a strong claim for any artist to make, and it sets the terms for everything else. Her works are not pictures of a place, a person or an event. They are records of an inner state, built up on the surface until the material carries it.
The gallery's own description of her collection puts the same idea in one line: she works abstraction as a kind of inner vision. For collectors who are new to abstract art, that phrase is a good way in. It suggests that the question to ask of a Fenig work is not "what is this a picture of?" but "what is this surface doing, and how does it make me feel?"
Why Accidents Sit at the Heart of Her Process
The most distinctive line in Fenig's biography is about chance. She experiments with different materials and methods, looking for images that are aesthetically pleasing and that express freedom and spontaneity. The result, the biography says, is always unpredictable and surprising, even for the artist herself. With each piece she discovers new paths and perspectives, and this approach has led her to consider accidents a fundamental component of her creative process.
Many painters try to eliminate accidents. A drip, a smudge or a torn edge is often treated as a mistake to be corrected. Fenig takes the opposite position. If the aim is to externalise emotion and energy, then the moments the artist did not plan are exactly where something honest can enter the work. An accident is evidence that the surface was allowed to respond, not simply to obey.
For a collector, this changes how a work should be read. A Fenig surface is not a finished plan executed step by step. It is closer to a record of a conversation between the artist and her materials, where each mark answered the one before it. That is why her works tend to reward slow looking: the decisions and the accidents sit side by side, and part of the pleasure is learning to tell them apart, or deciding that it no longer matters.
From Ojo Interior to Mapa de Identidad
The Art of NOMA collection traces a clear arc through her practice, from the early Ojo Interior ("inner eye") to the maximal Mapa de Identidad ("map of identity"). The two titles bracket her central concerns. The collection page names them directly: perception, intuition and identity.
Ojo Interior is a mixed-media work on paper from 2021, measuring 70 × 50 cm. Its product description calls it one of the earliest points in her trajectory, the work whose title her later practice keeps returning to. The idea of an inner eye, perception as something internal rather than what the eye reports, is a compact statement of what her abstraction is for.
Mapa de Identidad, from 2026, is at the other end of the scale. It is a large canvas, 130 × 160 cm, built in acrylic, gold leaf, pastel and oil stick. Each material brings its own behaviour: gold leaf catches the light, pastel stays chalky and matte, and oil stick drags across the surface. Here identity reads less as a depicted subject than as an accumulation of marks and layers competing for the same space.
Neither of these two works is currently available, but they are worth knowing because they frame the works that are. Between an inner eye and a map of identity sit the 2021 works on paper, including the two untitled pieces collectors can acquire today.
What Do the Untitled Works on Paper Offer?
Untitled I and Untitled II are both mixed-media works on paper made in 2021, each measuring 100 × 70 cm. Each is unique, ships rolled in a protective tube ready for framing, and comes with a certificate of authenticity. Their product pages describe them as a small sequence: Untitled I opens it, and Untitled II continues it on the same open terms.
The lack of a title is deliberate. For an artist who treats abstraction as inner vision, naming a work would point the viewer toward a fixed reference. Leaving it untitled hands perception back to the person looking. If you want to think more about this, our Journal piece on what an artwork's title tells you explores how titles steer attention, and what happens when an artist chooses not to steer at all.
On the surface of both works, marks overlap, accumulate and interrupt one another across a tall vertical format. Pop and figuration surface and submerge without fully arriving, so the image never settles into something you can name in a sentence. Depth emerges through texture and tonal shifts, and the works reveal more detail the longer you stay with them.
Seen together, the pair offers a chance to hang a sequence rather than a single statement. Hung side by side, they let you see how the same inquiry can move in two directions from one starting point, which is exactly the kind of exploration her biography describes.
How Layered Materials Carry the Meaning in Her Work
Across her practice, Fenig layers acrylic, oil, gold leaf, pastel and collage. The collection page makes a point that is easy to skim past: the material itself does much of the talking. In many abstract works, colour and composition carry the meaning. In hers, the physical character of each medium is just as important.
This matters because each material behaves differently in light and over time. Gold leaf reflects, so a work containing it changes as daylight moves through a room. Pastel absorbs light and gives a soft, dry texture. Collage adds real edges and a second layer of surface. Oil and acrylic dry differently and sit differently on the support. When these are layered, the work becomes something you experience as an object, not only as an image.
It also explains why her works photograph only partially. A screen flattens texture and removes the shift of reflective materials. If you are considering a Fenig work, it is worth asking the gallery for additional detail images before you decide. The surface is where much of the meaning lives.
Living With a Giselle Fenig Work on Paper
Works on paper are one of the most approachable ways to begin a collection of original art. At 100 × 70 cm, Untitled I and Untitled II have real presence on a wall, yet they arrive rolled and are framed locally, which gives you full control over the final look. A float mount that shows the edges of the sheet, a slim wooden frame, or a wide mat can each change how the work reads.
Paper needs a little more care than canvas. Framing behind UV-filtering glazing, keeping the work out of direct sunlight and away from humid walls will protect it for decades. Our guide on how to display works on paper and drawings walks through framing, glazing and placement in more detail.
A vertical format of this size suits a hallway, the wall beside a doorway, or the space above a narrow console. If you are unsure whether it will fit your room, our collector guide on how to choose the right size art for your wall explains how to measure and plan before you buy.
Both works can be viewed on their own pages: Untitled I by Giselle Fenig and Untitled II by Giselle Fenig. Prices are published on each work's page. To see her alongside other painters, browse the gallery's original paintings or discover the other artists at Art of NOMA.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Giselle Fenig?
Giselle Fenig is an artist born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1969, who moved to Mexico City at the age of four. She makes layered abstract works that she treats as an external manifestation of her inner self, her emotions and her energy.
What materials does Giselle Fenig use?
Across her practice she layers acrylic, oil, gold leaf, pastel and collage. Her large canvas Mapa de Identidad combines acrylic, gold leaf, pastel and oil stick, while her 2021 works on paper are in mixed media.
Why are accidents important in Giselle Fenig's work?
She experiments with different materials and methods, and the result is unpredictable even for her. This approach has led her to consider accidents a fundamental component of her creative process, a way to reach freedom and spontaneity.
Which Giselle Fenig works are available at Art of NOMA?
As of September 30, 2026, two original works are available: Untitled I and Untitled II, both mixed media on paper from 2021, each measuring 100 × 70 cm and shipped rolled, ready for framing, with a certificate of authenticity.