About the Artist ...
Gabriel Garbow grew up in the small town of Red Wing, Minnesota. He spent his early years climbing the nearby bluffs and letting his imagination wander. His love of drawing - and later painting - took him to New York City to Las Cruces, New Mexico, to Sacramento and recently San Francisco, California.
Today, Garbow finds himself creates watercolors - and the life he’s always wanted - in his home studio Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
His unique style takes cues from contemporary screen prints, pop art, and turn-of-the-century book illustration. With influences including David Hockney, Douglas Simonson, Egon Scheile, and Marc Silvestri, Garbow’s own work takes inspiration from both high and low art. His work is known for conveying a sense of peace, energy, playfullness, and intimacy. Recent series have focused on scenes of men outdoors and couples in more domestic settings.
Artist Statement
My artwork often uses images of figures in water to evoke playfulness, connectedness, and contemplation. These themes relate to people’s lives and quite literally reflect the subtle mingling of emotions that make up the human experience. I use watercolor with a combination of spontaneity and control for a crisp yet natural feel.
My attraction to these themes stems from those childhood associations with days at the beach, back home in the Midwest, as well as vacations to the coasts. These were moments of communion with nature and the people around me. Moments that I intensely looked forward to, but which also found fraught with feelings of isolation. It is my aim to evoke these moments that will ring familiar with the viewer - complicated states of being, that connect us far beyond the simple depiction of beauty and leisure.