I first stumbled into a Gelbell exhibition in my first week living in Sydney. It was March 2023, and I had just moved my life interstate, alone. I was desperate to sink my teeth into the local arts scene (and some semblance of a new social life) and so I rounded up a single friend as a companion and headed to the opening night of their exhibition Salted Butter at Rainbow Studios in Darlinghurst.

Even by early nightfall, guests were spilling out onto the street – clinking glasses of wine and standing contemplatively in front of oversized canvases slathered with hot pinks, lemon yellows and electric blues. The scenes appeared painted on with abandon – cowboy hats, bikinis, boots and tangled bodies in languid repose. Each felt full of personality and yet entirely anonymous – faces always hidden from view. There was something about the combination of mystique and charisma that charmed me even then, and I found myself needing to know more about the Melbourne duo behind the works.

Angelica Wootton and Isabella Greene had begun their practice during a 2020 lockdown and had since cultivated a distinctive collaborative approach – sharing a canvas between them with their spontaneous, free-flowing style. And this week, following a creative stint that took them across Europe, living and working in Amsterdam and Ibiza, the pair are returning to Rainbow Studios for their new exhibition I Heart. The show is akin to a love letter to the everyday – a reference to the camp and iconic "I heart t-shirt". The event will also be the last at the Darlinghurst showroom, before the Rainbow Studios team begins working with a number of hand selected venues around Sydney and Australia.

Ahead of the exhibition's opening on Thursday 12 March 2026 – where you'll find drinks from Zonzo Estate Wine and Papa Salt Gin – we spoke with Wootton and Greene about finding sympatico on the canvas, recurring motifs, the influence of travel and which piece in I Heart they hope you'll spend a moment longer contemplating.

1. What’s relatively unique to your practice is how you both share a canvas to paint together. How did you meet and how did that process start?

We met in Year 7 and have been friends for over 15 years. While Gelbell as we know it began during a 2020 lockdown quarantined in a house together painting with some children's paint, we’ve actually been doing creative things together since we were 15. So it's been incredibly organic and fun for us to build this artist name together and work side by side on the same pieces.

2. What are both of your art backgrounds like? Did either of you share in formal training or did you come to art more organically?

Art and painting has always been central in both our lives! However, we often spent time and studies in other areas of art and design, particularly as we got older. Gel completed a Bachelor (Honors) of Interior Design and Bella an Associate Degree in Furniture Design. To return to painting was a dream come true in a way we didn't plan but could definitely always imagine.

3. How do you intuit working together on a canvas – how do you know where to stop and the other should start?

There is no rule or recipe. We have definitely developed an unspoken language allowing us to respond intuitively to what the other contributes. If there's something we listen to to help guide us in the process of when to work on the piece; it is feeling inspired and excited by what’s happening in front of and around us as by ourselves and the other.

We couldn't do it by ourselves, we love working together in this unique and often unpredictable way (and having each other's company!). We think this is what comes back to the no recipe thing, when there are two people there is no way of knowing what the end result will be.

4. You seem to draw on similar references across your practice – Western motifs, the female body, beachy settings. What draws you to these visuals?

Our upbringings. It's a real connection and reflection on our lives growing up. And how this also shapes the way we live now. Every piece has a story of which only we really know in entirety. We paint breadcrumbs, recurring themes, symbols and postures, to allow viewers to connect. Something we know will happen as we paint the continuous narrative of the beauty of the everyday.

5. You spent a bit of time working and showing in Europe last year as well – how did spending time there influence your practice?

Yes we recently had a studio in Amsterdam and worked on a collection over there for a Gallery. Something we also did the year before in Ibiza. We also travel a lot. Our practice thrives when we are inspired, adventuring, travelling and spending time in cities and on beaches. These life experiences really give us the desire to paint. New studios, materials and techniques picked up along the way also bring a layer of newness and evolution to the works. Working internationally creates new subject matter which is fun too! Really what we always come back to is people. We are fascinated by people and watching how individuals go about their day.

6. Your latest show ‘I Heart’ is opening soon at Rainbow Studios in Darlinghurst. Tell me a bit about the meaning behind these pieces and the show title.

This feels really special to us. They are an amalgamation of our travels we mentioned earlier. It’s our way of capturing the joy of travelling to places that mean something special to us or resonate with us. The t-shirts highlight this in an ironic, silly, everyday way while the subjects in the paintings themselves dive into the feelings and motifs of our experiences.

We get so excited at the thought of showing our work and passing on these feelings of relatability, nostalgia and joy onto others.

7. Which piece do you hope people linger on a little longer at the show?

This body of work started with the painting Paris Tee. It was a sketch on a piece of paper that we did when we were in Paris. The whole concept comes from the feeling of sitting on a sidewalk in Paris in summer, watching the world go by, enjoying its texture while also feeling the energy the city gives off. And this comes back to the last part of our blurb… "Obsessed with real life as it unfolds, Gelbell transforms everyday encounters, like the overused I heart t-shirt, into vibrant icons of beauty. Proof that the most meaningful moments are often the most familiar."

Gelbell's I Heart solo exhibition opens next Thursday 12th March from 6-8pm at Rainbow Studios in Darlinghurst, Sydney. For all art enquiries, please visit rainbowstudios.com.au or email [email protected]