Gabrielle Medina

Instagram: iknowgaby

Website: https://www.gabrielledmedina.com/

Bio: Gabrielle Medina is a Mexican American painter. She was born and raised in Tucson, Arizona where she received her Bachelors in art history and studio art at the University of Arizona. She received her Masters of Fine Art from California College of the Arts. She is currently living and working in Oakland, CA

Statement: I paint objects into abject abstracted space, collaged together with found materials. I take inspiration from Vanitas paintings, semiotics, pop culture and my own Mexican culture. In my paintings I create connections and associations by collage. I take found objects like scribbled notes and used lotto scratcher tickets; I'm drawn to little trinkets that show evidence of life and a connection to another person. I take inspiration from my hometown, moments of sentimentality and the women around me. I'm inspired by women that are fully themselves, that smash together authenticity, camp and "tackiness” to create moments of self expression and power. <br><br> My work explores what is valuable and desirable. A large part of my practice is imitation. Recreating stickers or decals, using rhinestones, creating my own tags and graffiti. I enjoy playing with imitation because it is so closely tied to the concept of value. My work questions what is valuable, a rhinestone, a used lottery scratcher? When I first moved to The Bay Area I was struck with the extreme poverty and wealth. In my work I use collage and painting to explore and critique class structure and inequality. I smash together the ugliness and the abject with fully rendered and meticulously painted food, objects, trash, and "jewels".