Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriela Klerian.
Hi Gabriela, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
I was born and raised in Mexico City and have had the chance to live in different places, all of which I have greatly enjoyed… from Italy to Spain, to the West Coast, the East Coast, and the Gulf Coast of the US. I am currently living in The Woodlands where I work at STUDIOKLERIAN, a space where I can be fully immersed in my painting.
I grew up in a family where architecture and design played an important role, so you could say my parents planted the artistic interest in me at an early age and gave me the opportunity to pursue my passion. My mother introduced me to the world of art during our travels, and since a young age, I felt the need to explore that artistic side in me.
In Florence, Italy, I enrolled at the Istituto per l’Arte e il Restauro and worked for two years to obtain a college degree in Painting and Artistic Graphics. I was trained in representational drawing techniques in a program with its roots in the great classical painting traditions of Europe. I then returned to Mexico City, and I got a bachelor’s degree in Graphic Design with focus on Interior Design with a year abroad in Madrid. Later on, at Stanford University, I enrolled in the Continuing Studies program, and then I moved to New York City. Life took me on a great journey, not always super close along the artistic path, but I’ve managed to continue being close to my passion.
Today I aim to evoke in my work the relation between the environment and my own experience, my journey.
We all face challenges, but looking back would you describe it as a relatively smooth road?
As an artist, the main struggle for me is staring at a white canvas and facing the fear of not being able to visualize clearly what I want to do and not being able to transmit the emotion I want. A white canvas is a blue ocean full of possibilities where you can reinvent yourself, where you can be loud and bold, a space with no rules or limitations, but that is also a very big challenge.
Also, it is a struggle to paint while life goes on around me. The world doesn’t stop for you to get inspired, concentrate and paint. Therefore, I work on different pieces simultaneously, and that gives me the chance to jump from one to the other. Sometimes I finish one piece pretty fast and others, I just know something is missing and I just stare at it every day, for weeks until it just comes to me. Sometimes, this happens in the middle of the night, and I have to jump out of bed with a flash of inspiration and get it done.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am a storyteller through abstract painting. During the years, I’ve evolved as a person, and my aesthetic perception has evolved too, and therefore my artistic path has taken me in a new direction. Nonetheless, my work still has a lot from my classical formation. My current paintings are still inspired by the figurative skills and tradition from my initial training.
My goal is to express, in a subtle and stylish way, the beauty and intensity of emotions through different mixed media techniques.
Each artwork walks you through a special journey of colors, textures, typography, symbols, layers, and strokes.
Is there a quality that you most attribute to your success?
I believe something important to me is that everything is about the experience, the unique relation that each person establishes with the painting.
I frequently work with different recovered materials, so I get the chance to work over previous stories embedded in those materials and write a new story. For me, you can still see all the layers underneath, even though they might not be paint.
I found my art to be like what happens to us as human beings. We are not only the top layer. We are many different versions of ourselves, and though we might like one more than another, they all deserve a chance to play a part.
Gabriela will have a solo exhibition called “Trayectos” at the Consulate General of Mexico in Houston from May 10 to June 16, 2023. For more information, visit @STUDIOKLERIAN on Instagram.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.studioklerian.com
- Instagram: @STUDIOKLERIAN
