Gabriela Esplá
Bio
Gabriela Esplá studied Fine Arts at Jorge Tadeo Lozano University in Bogotá under the tutelage of Guillermo Cardenas and later Delcy Morelos. She has exhibited extensively in Panama, Italy, and Colombia, including at the Mateo Sariel Gallery in Panama, in the ‘Zero Edge’ exhibition organized by the Today Art Museum in Beijing, China, where she worked with curators such as Juan Xu and Sandra Miranda Pattin, and two residencies at the Chiasso Perduto space in Florence, Italy, among others. She received an honorable mention at the Le Venezie Prize organized by ACSA and Shengxinyu Art in Treviso and won the Mural500 prize to paint a mural commemorating the 500th anniversary of the founding of Panama City. Her work is part of various public collections, such as the Morgan & Morgan Foundation, the National Bank of Panama, the General Bank of Panama, and Global Bank, among other private collections. She currently lives and works in Panama City.
Statement
Trees growing underwater, in fresh, artificial water. How can we, the people of Panama, avoid problems in our search for identity if these trees, which should greet the sun and provide us with shade, have found another destiny? My research is based on the observation of my cultural and geographical context, the territorial issue in a place that was created for the sake of a canal; an excuse to connect the world, which alienates and divides us.
My work is a response to this constant abandonment, with scenes from an emotional and dense jungle. In general, there is disappointment and corruption in Latin America.
2.5 x 4m / 98.4 x 157 in
