For Gabriela Martínez, painting is a therapeutic endeavor. Often, we encounter emotions that elude verbal articulation, especially feelings determined by nebulous sensations. Yet, these emotions flow seamlessly through the boundless spectrum of hues and gestures. Gabriela dreams, allowing her visions to manifest directly onto the canvas; her strokes dream with her, melding into a singular creative entity. From the canvas emanates a palpable aura of opulence and empowerment. The flourish of her brushwork is not one of timidity, but of audacity. Her palette consistently challenges conventions, rejoicing—or mourning—in genuine primary colors.
She regards her abilities as a transcendent power, granting her passage to and from her subjectivity. Through meditation, she immerses herself in color, positioning her mind beyond the distractions of the immediate, beyond the reach of exigencies. Contrary to what may be inferred, this approach seemingly stimulates a critical thought process that recurrently reevaluates her cosmic role, establishing her distinct coordinates within it.
To an external observer, an undercurrent of vehemence might be discernible in her art. Perhaps her journey to the subconscious is fraught with hurdles—it's challenging to ascertain. Navigating such a path necessitates an animated, physically expressive artistic gesture. The outcome is defiant; images flow and clash, dismissing any formal hierarchy, leaving behind the glowing embers of an unidentifiable landscape. Her milieu appears populated by almost familiar, yet elusive figures, which ultimately absorb the viewer's subjectivity. This ferocity is also evident in her chromatic range. In this era, it's prevalent for entertainment platforms to deliver visuals imbued with a somber, desaturated hue, possibly aiming to emulate the grayscale aesthetics of documentaries, thereby enhancing authenticity, suggesting a vision of possibility that surpasses conventional fiction. What Gabriela Martínez offers, however, is the antithesis: implausible realms, a tumult of thickly applied gestures, strokes of vibrant, saturated colors, and brisk, bold flourishes steered by distinct emotion and mood.
Her pieces are undeniably confrontational. Perhaps fitting into the world's tedious jigsaw requires a touch of chaos. For ages, confrontations with the status quo have been vehement. There's no need to reinvent the wheel to embark on a personal journey. Gabriela extracts these scenes from the narrative she has penned for herself, recognizing that her journey boasts immense potency, and her very existence is a gesture of gratitude towards the cosmos and the immutable nature of reality.
Gabriela Martinez was born in Havana in 1987 and graduated with a specialty in painting from the San Alejandro National School of Arts in Havana in 2012. In 2014 she established in Miami, from where she traveled to Mexico where she spent working periods. In 2014 she holds her first personal exhibition “Presence of the Absence” at Makaya Gallery, Miami. Since 2011 she has exhibited in numerous group shows in it; Concrete Space, Miami; Ixchel Museum of Indigenous Costume, Guatemala; Macaya Gallery, Miami; Art Wynwood Art Fair, Miami; Red Dot Art Fair, Miami; Art Festival Downtown, Miami; Diego Victoria Fine Art Gallery, Miami; Agora Gallery, New York; House of Mexico, Havana; Berthold Brecht Theater, Havana and Teodoro Trujillo Gallery, Havana. Her work has appeared in different publications such as; CdeCuba Art Magazine No. 27, Madrid; Cuban Contemporary Art Collection, Cuba Plus, Havana; Diario de las Americas, Miami and Art District Magazine, Miami. Her work has been acquired by select private collections in the United States, Spain and Panama.
