Yigsy Magaly (b. 1998, San Salvador, El Salvador; raised in New Jersey) is a visual artist exploring the emotional relationship between line, color, and form. Beginning with photorealistic portraiture, she later developed a minimal yet expressive style that captures feeling through flat color and intricate linework.
Her ongoing series centers on faceless figures that function as emotional vessels. Rather than relying on facial expression, Magaly focuses on posture, gesture, and patterned environments to communicate emotional states. The absence of identity invites viewers to project their own experiences onto the body, emphasizing the idea that emotions are carried but do not define who we are.
A graduate of the Mason Gross School of the Arts, Magaly’s work has been exhibited across New Jersey and New York. Alongside her studio practice, she also leads art workshops that invite participants into her process, using guided mark-making and color as tools for personal expression and connection. Her work continues to explore how abstraction and the human form can serve as a language for emotional experience.
CV
Education
2020 — BFA, Mason Gross School of the Arts, Rutgers University, New Brunswick, NJ
Solo & Two-Person Exhibitions
2024 — Abstraction of the Human Mind (two-person with Angel Duran), Herb + Milly Iris Gallery, South Orange, NJ
2019 — Closed & Exposed, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
2018 — Just a Thought, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
2017 — Warm but Cool Tones, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
2016 — Intro to Kat, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
Selected Group Exhibitions
2026 — Press Fast-Forward, JCAL, New York, NY
2026 — Focal Point, Motto Juice Bar & Gallery, Newark, NJ
2025 — Smile, Buds & Blooms, Englewood, NJ
2025 — Love Is The Remedy, Buds & Blooms, Englewood, NJ
2024 — The Big Small Show, Drawing Rooms (Terrarium & Alcove Galleries), Jersey City, NJ
2024 — NCJW/Essex Gala Art Show, Livingston, NJ
2024 — Kaleidoscope Hispanica, Pierro Gallery, South Orange, NJ
2024 — Red 7, Perth Amboy Gallery, Perth Amboy, NJ
2024 — Vibrant Melodies, Buds & Blooms, Englewood, NJ
2024 — Static Motion, Art 150 Gallery, Jersey City, NJ
2024 — Diaspora, Perth Amboy Gallery, Perth Amboy, NJ
2024 — Underground Armoire, Sour Mouse, New York, NY
2023 — The WAE Open, Heidi Gallery at JSDD, Livingston, NJ
2023 — Art Fair 14C, Jersey City, NJ
2023 — Consumed by Creativity, Electrical Jungle, Jersey City, NJ
2023 — Behind City Walls, Caelum Gallery, New York, NY
2023 — Unfamiliar Faces (with Angel Duran), One River School, Clark, NJ
2023 — High Thoughts, The Green Room, Englewood, NJ
2023 — The Bititis, Carter Fine Art Services, Montclair, NJ
2023 — Love Hurts, UGLYSTUDIO, Leonia, NJ
2023 — Curtain Call, Mason Gross Galleries, New Brunswick, NJ
2022 — UGLYSTUDIO, Leonia, NJ
2022 — A Breath of Fresh Air, Buds & Blooms, Englewood, NJ
2021 — Unrequited!, Caelum Gallery, New York, NY
2021 — Layers, David Dupuy Gallery, New York, NY
2021 — The Crowd, 7House Gallery, Brooklyn, NY
2020 — Windows of Understanding, New Brunswick Community Arts Council, NJ
2019 — Vision for the Future, Mason Gross Galleries, NJ
2019 — A Burden To Bare, Ridgewood, NY
2019 — The Blacker The Berry, Busch Student Center, NJ
2019 — Up In The Clouds, GSAH, NJ
2018 — Onwards and Upwards, Mason Gross Galleries, NJ
2017 — Between Either & Or, Mason Gross Galleries, NJ
2016 — William Paterson Art Show, Wayne, NJ
Curatorial Projects
2019 — Vision for the Future, Mason Gross Galleries, NJ
2019 — Up In The Clouds, GSAH, NJ
Awards & Recognition
2019 — Scarlet Promise Grant, Rutgers University
2019 — Distinguished Scholar Award, Rutgers University
2019 — Ruth Crockett Art Award, Rutgers University
2018 — Ruth Crockett Art Award, Rutgers University
2016 — Best Painting Award, William Paterson University
Publications & Press
https://canvasrebel.com/?post_types=&s=yigsymagaly
https://montclairlocal.news/venue/sopac/
https://www.sopacnow.org/events/abstraction-of-the-human-mind/
https://jcitytimes.com/static-motion-at-gallery-14c/
https://www.bokeh.show/yigsy-magaly
https://www.artistonish.com/p/march2026.html
