ARTIST STATEMENT
Gabriela finds her inspiration in memory and memories. She keeps a growing archive of ephemera that includes old photograph albums, postcards, technical manuals, illustrated dictionaries, vintage documents, her grandmother’s fashion magazines, knitting pattern books and scraps of writing among other things. Second-hand bookshops, junk shops, market stalls, attics and long-forgotten boxes are her treasure trove.
The layering of found imagery and memorabilia runs across all her creations, whether they be mixed media works on canvas, collages, greeting card designs, or decorative objects.
Her collage work emerges from a fusion of painting, printmaking and found imagery. Gabriela’s creations are often humorous and whimsical, with splashes of vibrant colour and random connections between images. She is inspired by many artists including Joseph Cornell, Henri Matisse, Peter Blake, Terry Gilliam and the anonymous collage makers of the 18th and 19th centuries.
ARTIST BIO
Gabriela grew up in Buenos Aires, Argentina, but London has been her home for many years now. She lives in Camberwell, a vibrant and arty South London neighbourhood where she attended the College of Art in the early 90s. After graduation, she ran a ceramics studio for twelve years, supplying a number of galleries across the UK and also selling internationally. In 2007 she took an MA in studio printmaking from The University of Brighton and since then she has been working in mixed-media and collage.
Highlights of recent years include winning a commission from Southwark Council for a now sadly defunct public art project, having a solo show inspired by family photographs of the Armenian diaspora at the Eduardo Sivori Museum in her native Buenos Aires, and sharing her expertise through books such as ‘House of Cards’, ‘The Pretty Nostalgic Compendium’, and ‘Ephemera: inspiring papers from the past’. She has also taught and demonstrated her collage and decoupage skills at Heal’s London, Grand Designs Live, The Jewish Museum and The Museum of London among other prestigious venues. She currently teaches creative techniques from her studio and online.