GERB
Grayson “Gerb” Toal (born 1999, Charlotte, NC) is an artist based in Wilmington, North Carolina. She earned her BA and MA in English from the University of North Carolina Wilmington. Gerb’s large-scale acrylic paintings have been exhibited in North Carolina, including shows at New Elements Gallery in Wilmington and Lantana’s Gallery in Southport. Currently, she serves as the in-house artist at True Blue Butcher & Table, where she both creates and curates artwork for the restaurant's collection. Her work has also been featured in Wilmington Magazine. Gerb currently lives and works in Wilmington, North Carolina.
I’m drawn to the complexities of girlhood and womanhood. I paint to better understand and communicate their duality, drawing from my experiences growing up in the South. Working on large canvases is an act of taking up space—the scale of the work allows the figure, and me, to claim the room unapologetically. The figures I paint might reflect myself, or a version of me, fixed in place forever.
Once the eyes are painted and she stares back at me in the studio, I’m curious: How does she feel? Is she at home? Does she like the way she looks? Does she want to be there at all? The not-knowing is what keeps the process alive for me. I don’t like to overthink what a painting or collection means; instead, I’m more interested in the quiet dialogue between me and the subjects.
