GABRIEL GIMENEZ AKA GG 
Photograph by Dwayne Tucker.
Talented, Dedicated, Successful and Humble are just a few of the many words that describe the Pop-Art artist Gabriel Gimenez aka GG. The Barquisimeto-born, Miami-based Artist is not your typical twenty-year-old Pop Art-oriented artist. At a very young age he has accomplished many things that some of us only dream of doing. From participating in Charity events, and having his work at various Galleries, Spas, and Hotels in Miami, to painting murals for Miami’s Art Basel and having his work in exhibitions at Museums in Europe. These are just "some" of the accomplishments that separate GG from the pack.
If you think that’s all, you’re wrong. There’s more.
GG and myself met at the Art Fusion Gallery (where I first met him) so I could ask him some questions and get to know him a little more:
Me: I know you’re originally from Venezuela, but how long have you lived in Miami?
GG: I’ve been here for 9 years. I haven’t been back yet, but one of my dreams is to have my work in a Gallery over there. I just haven’t had the opportunity yet.
Me: I’m sure you will.
Me: Do you think you’ve always been an artist?
GG: I think I became an artist. I was always interested in somehow expressing myself either through theatre, music, or art. I would always draw sketches but I never took it as serious as now. It wasn’t until when I was in high school that I finally learned how to express everything I wanted to say through my pieces.
Me: Can you name some of the artists you look up to?
GG: Wow, I look up to a lot of them. But right now my top one will be Takashi Murakami. I’m also looking at a lot of Japanese Art and exploring other “non-Pop Art” artists. I just feel that if I try to get inspired looking at another Pop-Art artist work is like I’m taking one step back. So I’m trying to come up with new ideas by looking up art that has nothing to do with the one I work with.
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| "Bust" |
Me: What motivates GG?
GG: My family is my number one motivation. They’ve always been there for me and always will so I mainly do it for them. We’ve been through rough times together and it definitely has made me appreciate them more. I also think that my art has brought us closer. They are very supportive of what I do and I love them for that.
Me: That’s admirable. It’s Good to hear that you appreciate and value your family and I’m sure they’re very proud of you.
GG: They are. Thank you so much.
Me: Do the colors that you use represent the way you’re feeling?
GG: The colors that I use represent my personality. I’m very easy to get along with and that makes me approachable, I think.
Me: It's true. You are very approachable.
GG: [Laughs] Thank you. My intentions with the colors were really to make my paintings approachable like me. Because you can’t hardly tell if I’m expressing sadness or happiness in them but you are still attracted to the pieces because of the colors.
Me: One of my favorite series, if it’s not my top favorite, would be the “Super Heroes”
one. What was the message behind that?
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| "SuperFado" SUPERHEROES Series |
GG: The world is going through a period of time that it’s so crazy. We have wars going on and so many things bad are happening and I feel like we need that person. So I said, why don’t I bring back the heroes that inspired me when I was a kid? And that’s how the whole character series came to life. Some people look at it and they say, “Hey, Look at flash!” but the whole point behind it was to bring back that idea of that “Hero” that we need. And hopefully we can all become our own heroes.
Me: Give me an example of another series that gives a strong message
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| Deep Down Series |
GG: There’s actually another series that I have that is straight up a critique to society and it’s called: Deep Down. I used underwater characters like, piranhas and little fishes I created to express and imitate the way that I see society now a days, and how its been run by a bunch of people that have this mentality of keeping it to themselves and working only for their money and benefit and not helping the community as a whole.
GG: It’s a very fun and colorful series, but to tell you the truth, it’s representing something strong, sad, and drastic. It doesn’t have anything to do with being happy. And I think that is a good thing because sometimes some artists create work that have all this strong feelings and they take it so far that it becomes a really sad piece and you don’t even want to look at it. So, with my work I’m creating something that you could appreciate visually and learn something just by looking at them.
Me: Name some places where you’re currently exhibiting your work
GG: I have paintings at the Hotel Urbano (Brickel,fl), NUE Studio (Midtown), QIU Salon & Spa (Doral,fl), BRENA Museum (Milan, Italy) and here at Art Fusion Galley (Design District). I also have a few pieces around the city in either apartments or Hotel Lobbies. But the main exhibition is here at Art Fusion. I’ve been with them for over a year now. They’re a great team, the method that they have of working has benefited my work and I’m extremely thankful for that.
Me: I heard a rumor that you’ll be working on a mural in the Design District for Art Basel week. Is this true?
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Location of Mural
Photograph by Goggle Maps. |
GG: Yes, it will be on NW Miami ave and NE 40th st. I will be working on it from 11am to 6pm everyday starting Nov 27th ending Dec 3rd. There will be people filming and photographing the process and bloggers like you also.
Me: That’s Great. I’ll make sure to stop by one day. How were you approached with this idea?
GG: It all started when I worked on a mural inside the “Art Fusion Gallery” After I was done with it, I asked them if I could work on one outside of the gallery. They thought it was a great idea and gave me the space. One of my goals is to work on many murals and this is my first “outdoor” and biggest one so far. I’m really excited.
Me: Where are you with your Art right now?
GG: I’m still very young but right now I feel I’m where I want to be when it comes to my Art and personal life. It feels good doing what I love and I think that’s how it’s always been. If it feels right then I stick with it. I feel very accomplished even though I know I still have a lot more to learn.
Me: What’s next for GG?
GG: I’m working on some sculptures and on building a new website to express my artwork through T-shirts. Not everybody can afford 1000-dollar pieces so I want to make it affordable to people by putting my work on T-Shirts.
Also, one of the things that I want to accomplish in the future is being able to put my characters in animation. That’s something I look forward to in the future. I’m also currently going to school to become a Graphic Designer at MIU and the whole point in studying that is to have that knowledge on being able to combine the graphics with the visuals.
Me: What advice would you give other young Artists like yourself that are trying to make it in the Art World?
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| Photograph by Dwayne Tucker |
GG: It takes a lot of commitment and hard work. There are no breaks and you truly need to have it in you if you really want to accomplish something. This goes Not only to artists but to everyone that’s trying to make it in different fields, it takes a lot of time and dedication to accomplish your goals.
Behind-the-scene-highlight-of-the-interview: A married couple that was approximately in there 50’s, walked into the gallery that afternoon. We were about to leave but stayed an extra 10 minutes (because I wanted to see their reaction on GG’s artwork) Since, we’re used to only having people our age liking that kind of art I was curious to see if they would stop and look at his pieces. And guess what happened? They did. We approached them and I asked them what their thoughts on the painting were and the lady said: “They’re very approachable. I love the colors. Just by looking at them, it makes me smile.” I immediately felt like if I accomplished something, even though, I’m not even the artist.
GG is not only showing the world all of his talents by demonstrating what he is capable of doing, but most importantly he’s setting an example. At the end of the day the Race, Age, Social status, Political preference, or Nationality don't really matter.We are all fighting for something whether it is a personal or global problem. He's definitely an inspiration to many people that still need that push and motivation to move forward with their work.
I’m proud to say [in a non-pretentious way] that Gabriel Gimenez is not only representing the Arts as a whole but he also represents Miami, Latin America and Venezuela. [Insert applause sound here]
All photography by: Dwayne Tucker.
