Gabriella D’Abreau is a fine artist and illustrator based in Trinidad. Her style is dualistic in that it can be either intricate and realistic or expressive and non-representational. Gabriella enjoys both academic and experimental techniques and the balance they can lend to her work. She works with a variety of media but uses mostly acrylic paint, watercolor paint, pen and inks.
Gabriella sees her artwork as in a constant state of becoming. As such, she encourages her audience to actively participate in the viewing of her work. The artist does not finish a work of art; rather, the viewer becomes an equal participant when they construct meaning.
At present thematically Gabriella is focused on exploring concepts of the feminine identity. As a woman she has very strong feminine views. Her work is dominated by the concepts of power: weakness, strength, domination, submission and subjugation. The ideas she tries to convey are either personal to her identity as a woman or personal to her experience and observation of other women and how others relate to them. She strives to emphasize woman’s importance as a member of society and as a member of the universe. This is achieved by expressing her as powerful and weak; exalted and debased; at her most effeminate as well as her most masculine.
Gabriella’s work is about humanity and our world, both realized and fanaticized. Through visual manifestations of power, her art celebrates the internal power that the female holds within herself. Her work is a testament to woman, celebrating who she was, who she is and what she may become.
Gabriella is currently working on a diverse new body of work within the framework of the theme of “Woman” with the intension of having her first solo exhibit in June 2012 in Trinidad.
For more information on Gabriella and her work please visit her website www.gabrielladabreauart.com
ARTICLE FEATURED IN XEX MAGAZINE: SPECIAL EDITION ISSUE