Temple of the Forgotten Parts

Zena Gurbo comes from a family of artists — her mother made crosses out of found objects and painted,  her father is an illustrator/painter who is always finding new ways to play with art. Simone Mantelllassi, Gurbo’s partner, is an abstract painter and sculptor.  Both of her children are creative. Her uncle is a photographer, and her cousins are musicians. “It took a long time to call myself an artist with any conviction, but I’ve always relied on making things to illuminate and process life and its many emotions,” says Gurbo.

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The life-size series started during the pandemic, when two things were happening at once: paper bags were piling up in her Brooklyn basement, and she'd started exploring parts work, looking for a way to visually map the different parts of herself. The bags were just there — easy to flatten and piece together into something bigger — so she started painting on them, joking that she was on some kind of artist stipend, like the government used to hand out. "I make art as a way to investigate and regulate my parts and their emotions, as well as the expressions and moods of myself and those around me."

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Gurbo's been teaching art and creative expression for over twenty years, mostly with people with developmental disabilities. Watching her students create so freely is what showed her what unfettered creativity looked liked and eventually she learned it was possible for her too.

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Gurbo is currently pursuing a MSW at Binghamton University.  She has exhibited her work in group shows in Brooklyn, throughout the Catskills and in Copenhagen.  Gurbo is a NYSCA FY26 grant recipient.