TJ Mabrey

BIOGRAPHY

Born in Eagle Lake, Texas, TJ Mabrey’s life and work is far-reaching. After one year in Central America, following her marriage to J Stephen Mabrey, the couple returned to Dallas, Texas, where TJ studied with Master Sculptor Octavio Medellin for four years. In 1980, she established a carving studio in Pietrasanta, Italy, where she worked for 2-3 months annually. In 1986, her husband's work in the U.S. Foreign Service took them to Singapore, where TJ worked and exhibited before they settled in Cairo, Egypt, in 1988. During her four years in Cairo, she worked in a stone studio near the pyramids and organized four exhibits of her work.

During these years, TJ continued her annual trip to Italy, even after returning to the US in 1992 when she and Stephen established their home and TJ's studio in Central Texas. In 2011, the time came to close her Italian studio and move, with her husband, to Taos, New Mexico, USA. TJ opened Studio Santiago in Taos, New Mexico, in May 2014.

Upon beginning life in Northern New Mexico, TJ quickly became a pillar of the arts community, particularly among fellow stone sculptors. The artist had her inaugural studio exhibition in 2014 and continued to host an exhibition nearly every year, whether it was her Black and White shows on Reed Street or Stone Sculptors in the Landscape held at her home, which featured and platformed other Taos artists. Without these community exhibitions, many artists in the Taos & Rio Arriba counties would not have had a local opportunity to show their creations. TJ Mabrey was known for quite literally opening the doors to her own home in a welcoming support of others.

In 2025, TJ was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. In April of 2026, the artist retained autonomy over her own life after a year-long battle against her cancer. She passed away peacefully in her home, with her close friend and fellow artist Melissa Kennelly by her side. TJ was carving stories until her death, with Torso I and Torso II encapsulating this final line of her life, and finished only a few months before she left this earth.

But as an artist imbued with the symbology of the cycles of life, she has ensured her life does not end with her last breath. Instead, TJ has curated & commissioned six stone sculptors to be a part of her posthumous Relic project, in which each artist will receive a portion of her bones to carve an eternal resting place for her. Once complete, the Relic exhibition will be on display at 203 Fine Art.

Mabrey’s designs and sculptures are prominent in private collections in the United States, Canada, The Netherlands, Egypt, Lebanon, Italy, and across Asia.