Born in Brooklyn, NY in 1959 and raised in Queens, Mary Beth Giraci, a retired teacher from the NYC Public Schools, is a lifelong artist and arts educator.
With degrees from Pratt Institute (BFA, 1981), Queens College (MSED, 1983), and The School of Visual Arts (MFA, 1994), Giraci has exhibited her award-winning sculptures and works on paper throughout the country. She was one of the founding members of the arts collective "Fresh Baby Lambs" from 1994-1999 which held an annual Open Studios in Lower Manhattan. From 1984-1989, Giraci was partner, manager, and designer of "As Good As Old", a company that created and sold hand-painted wooden furniture and gifts to a nationwide customer base.
In 2019, Giraci relocated to Portland, Oregon, where she continues to make her hand-knitted sculptures, which vary in scale dramatically. She has created, manages, and teaches "Creative Club", an arts program for adults at Sellwood Community House. Giraci maintains her NYC connections and regularly exhibits there as well as Portland. Recently her work has been seen locally at The Ford Gallery, Gallery 114, Makerspace Sellwood, Things/Found Atelier, and this past year at A.I.R. Gallery, and The East End Council of New York. Her work is in private collections throughout the country.
Giraci has moved her art studio in early 2026 to The Ford Building where she has joined a vibrant community of creative professionals. There she has the space to work on her monumental knitted sculptures, as well as experiment with installation.
"My Sicilian grandparents met in 1918 in East Harlem, New York City. He was a stone carver for the city's cemeteries, and she worked in factories as a seamstress. I am the artist who continues this heritage through the process of creating my sculpture which knits monument and garment. The sculptures I make are archetypal female figures. They reflect our cultural histories, and status in the world through clothing, body shapes, hairstyles, and size. My current series uses pink and purple yarns to create monumental, often imposing figures, countering the way these colors traditionally represent "the feminine" as passive. Each figure is further defined by her gesture or pose and commands the space on its own terms. Lately I have collaborated with photographers and had photographs printed of the sculptures on metal plates. Their high resolution makes the figures appear embedded into the surface. This is an adjunct to the sculpture but artworks in and of themselves, offering a way to share the sculptures with more people in a complementary form." |
Media: Fiber & Fabric | Mixed Media | Sculpture
Studio Number: 82
Address: 2505 SE 11th Ave Suite 218 Portland OR 97202
Community: SE Portland
Accessibility: Wheelchair accessible
Email: mbgiraci.art@gmail.com
Website: mbgiraci.com
Instagram: @mbgiraci
