Gila Rayberg came to visual art after a career as a freelance musician and educator. After recieving an M.A. in music from Arizona State University, she immersed herself in San Francisco’s experimental music scene before venturing overseas to teach and perform in East Malaysia. Extensive travel across Southeast Asia deepened her engagement with indigenous art, textiles, and material culture.

On her return to the USA, Rayberg settled in New Orleans, busking jazz standards before joining the horn section of Deacon John & the Ivories. After Hurricane Katrina, she shifted her focus to mosaic full-time, and moved to Florida.

Gila’s portrait practice gained momentum through participation in Julia Kay’s Portrait Party, evolving into an ongoing series of over 70 mosaic portraits alongside hundreds of works on paper. She has been invited to international symposia, including the Contemporary Mosaic Art Symposium in Sardinia and a mosaic symposium in Patagonia, Argentina.

Rayberg’s studio practice expanded during the Covid period, driven by material experimentation and expanded directions in her work. Gila teaches workshops nationally and internationally, and her award-winning portraits have been widely exhibited and published. Recent highlights include a solo exhibition at Artel Gallery (Pensacola) and a six-month exhibition at the Pensacola Museum of Art.