Kristine Gagnier

The Fish Lady

Kristine Gagnier doesn’t just create art—she extracts it from the natural world. As a professional fish butcher, she works closely with chefs across Florida, salvaging fish bones and skeletal structures that would otherwise be discarded. These remnants, paired with driftwood she collected along Florida’s beaches and other artifacts from nature, become her raw materials. Her practice is part scavenger, part sculptor, and entirely intuitive.

Backlit fishbone art mounted on driftwood. Image from @FishLadyFL

Deeply connected to Florida’s marine ecosystems, Kristine’s perspective is rooted in a lifelong love for the ocean. Her art honors both the creatures she works with and the culinary community that surrounds them. It’s equal parts homage and reclamation—a way of saying nothing is wasted, and everything has a story.

Each of Kristine’s pieces is an intricate, deliberate composition. She begins by cleaning, preserving, and assembling fish bones—vertebrae, jaws, fins—treating them with reverence. She then pairs them with naturally weathered driftwood, allowing texture, shape, and flow to guide the final form. Some pieces evoke sea creatures, others resemble mythical relics. All feel alive.

At the core of Kristine’s process is a deep respect for sustainability. By repurposing culinary byproducts and beach-found wood, she highlights the cyclical nature of life and creativity. Her work encourages conversations about food systems, waste, and our role as stewards of the natural world.

Kristine’s residency is more than a showcase—it’s an invitation to see with new eyes, to find the extraordinary in the overlooked, and to reconnect with the rhythms of the sea.

Follow Kristine on Instagram @TheFishLadyFL