Meet Gabriela Esquivel in Fort Lauderdale

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gabriela Esquivel.

Gabriela, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Creativity, art, and music have always been a very important part of my life. While growing up in my native country Costa Rica, I was constantly taking lessons with local artists. In the early 2000’s, I began participating in private artistic events and local art fairs organized by the city of San Jose. I also started selling my work in Costa Rican art galleries. In 1999, my interest in the arts took me to explore the lands of Switzerland, Germany, Spain, Austria, Portugal, and Italy. After a short period of time studying Business Administration and Music in Costa Rica, I decided to pursue my dream and continue my studies in visual arts and music in Puerto Rico.

While studying in the island, I started selling my art at Galeria Botello in Old San Juan and by the end of 2015, I was invited to participate in the X Florence Biennale in Italy. In 2016 I decided to continue my career in Fort Lauderdale and that same year I participated in the art fairs during Art Basel Miami.

Fort Lauderdale has been a great place to continue my career. I have been actively working in projects and murals with the city of Fort Lauderdale and have been exhibiting my work in local artistic venues like The Frank Contemporaries in Pembroke Pines and Artserve in Fort Lauderdale. This year, I am deeply grateful and honored to receive the “Creative Investment Program Grant” given by the Broward County Cultural Division. I feel very pleased to have presented this past August my solo show “Soul and Mysticism” at Artserve. And I’m also very happy because I’m working on the street mural “A Ride over the Rainbow” in MASS District.

New projects are coming in 2019. I will be part once again of “Art Fort Lauderdale” in January and will be part of a collective exhibition in a gallery in Miami in February. I will be publishing my first children’s book “Gema, the Curious Butterfly” and will be sharing it with the community at the YMCA and other local venues.

Has it been a smooth road?
It hasn’t always been easy to continue my passion. I left my country to pursue my dreams. Art has taken me on a mystical journey to find my inner self and reconnect with the Divine. It has made me “a mystical traveler” in search of the most precious source of Light.

I’ve traveled through paths of vulnerable darkness and, from time to time, I’ve arrived in spaces full of joy and peace. Art has given me the freedom to explore the world and experience the Divine without necessarily having to follow any particular ritual or belong to any specific institution. Art has made me an explorer of life. The path has been full of laughter and tears, miracles and sorrows. Today, I can tell you that the journey has been intense. It has made me wiser and stronger… more noble and free.

A mystical traveler in search of the light… not finding it home had to explore other shores. A mystical traveler in search of pure love who, through trials and errors, has found something precious… both Freedom and Love.

So let’s switch gears a bit and go into the Gabriela Esquivel story. Tell us more about it.
I’m a multimedia artist who is interested in combining art and philanthropy. All my art is based on the theme that interests me the most: the search for freedom, love, and the Divine.

I express myself through a variety of mediums. I create paintings, murals, songs, children books, performances, and animations.

I’m mostly known for my painting collection “A Mystical Path.” This is a collection of paintings designed to narrate the journey of a soul in search of the light and a re-connection with the Divine.

My multimedia art project, “Gema, the Curious Butterfly” just received a grant from the Broward County Cultural Division. With this project, I will be performing my song “Gema” and will be reading my book about “Gema, the Curious Butterfly.” This is a butterfly who, more than anything in the world, wants to learn the true meaning of love. One of her dreams is to turn her heart into a diamond but to be able to achieve it, she needs to learn the mastery of love.

“Gema, the Curious Butterfly” partnered with the city of Fort Lauderdale in their efforts to help literate the kids of the community. Through the “Greater Fort Lauderdale Little Free Libraries project”, I will be decorating little free libraries with the kids of our community. The goal is to locate 150 little libraries around the city so the kids can take, read and share free books.

How do you think the industry will change over the next decade?
It is difficult for me to predict what is going to happen in the art industry.
I will continue creating and selling my painting collections through artistic online platforms, art galleries, and art fairs. The galleries that are currently selling my work are Galeria Botello in Puerto Rico, Galeria Rancho Santana in Nicaragua and Saatchiart.com.

I will be performing the project “Gema, the Curious Butterfly” in different venues. My book “Gema, the Curious Butterfly” will be available for sale on Amazon.com.

The book and all my artworks are also available on my website www.gabrielaesquivel.com.

I will also continue creating more murals around the city.

Contact Info:

• Website: www.gabrielaesquivel.com
• Phone: 7876671868
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: www.instagram.com/gabrielaesquivele
• Facebook: www.faceboook.com/gabrielaesquivele

Image Credit:
Jorg Hrushka

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