Gillian Rosselli (born 1962) is a Zimbabwean artist whose figurative and abstract practice reflects a range of contemporary everyday and socio-political issues, including domestic violence - particularly against women and children -, the legacy of colonization and the refugee migration crisis. She studied a Bachelor of Fine Art from 1981 - 1984 and has since developed her complex, distinctive language.
Rosselli’s work explores both personal and broader societal issues in Zimbabwe and beyond. In addition to her socio-political mission, she is an expert in using her universal artistic language as a tool to connect her work to the global contemporary agenda and their key themes of identity, gender / queerness and collective narratives / templates / memories. Rosselli is strongly commited to seeing and spiritual connections. She is embedding meaning through the layering of acrylic paint, sensitive use of color, and ambiguous contours. Rosselli has had six solo exhibitions to date. Her work is included in prestigious collections world-wide, public and private ones including the National Gallery of Zimbabwe, Royal Embassy of the Netherlands (Harare), Cottoc Zimbabwe, Anglo American and Mobil Oil.
Rosselli recently represented Zimbabwe at the Venice Biennale and has been featured in several local and international exhibitions, including ‘Five Bhobh - Painting At the End of an Era’ at the Zeitz Museum of Contemporary Art Africa, Cape Town in 2018. She has won many awards throughout her career, including the overall award of distinction for painting in Zimbabwe in 1995.