By: Musa Ali, Isis Day, Melanie Luengas
Gabriel Navar is, according to his resume, an artist who has also been a professor since the summer of 2000. He has taught in various locations in California, such as Peralta Community College (College of Alameda and Merritt College) in Oakland, California, and Allan Hancock College from August 2005 to December 2014. Mr. Navar’s exhibitions have been in various locations, most notably, Galerie B. Haasener in Wiesbaden,Germany, National Museum of Mexican Art in Chicago, Illinois, and El Estudio Galeria in Zacatecas, Mexico, among others. He has also done projects such as murals in the Woodland and Oakland, CA. Mr. Navar had his work featured on the cover of Host Publications for writers and poets. Mr. Navar has also done two traveling exhibitions and has worked with Paul Basier, a music composer. Mr. Navar had his exhibitions featured in San Mateo Daily Journal as well as the San Francisco Chronicle, Good Morning Northwest, as well as many others. Mr. Navar answered our questions via email.
Mr. Navar’s work gives a glimpse of the surreal and symbolic world of the subconscious. One easily becomes lost in a dream staring at his many pieces that encapsulate the times in which they were made. He uses his intelligence and humor to create edgy pieces that possess cultural symbolism with a modern satirical twist.
https://www.facebook.com/gabrielnavar/ quarantine times #23" © G Navar 2021; 18 x 14 in.; acrylic, pencils, ink & oil on canvas.
1. How did you come to join the NeoLatino Collective? How does your work fit into its objectives?
I joined the Neo-Latino Collective through an invitation by Ricardo Fonseca, Jose Rodeiro, and the late Raul Villareal. They invited me to join because I had been a member in another collective called “We Are You” based in NY and New Jersey but included artists from across the U.S. I initially joined the group in around the year 2012. My work connects with their objectives, I believe, because I share in their values in examining identity and cultural heritage. Furthermore, I believe that I am contributing to our narrative through artistic contributions. Our creative and theoretical contributions are quite diverse, and that appeals to me as a citizen of the universe.
2. What influenced you to choose a certain medium?
In my formative years, I experimented with various media; however, in my late teens, I discovered that I enjoyed acrylics very much because they may be used thinly (as watercolors), or thickly, or layered (as oils).
3. Can you tell me about any artistic influences you might have? Specific artists? Have they changed over time?
I have had many artistic influences across time. My initial influences as a late-teen were painters such as Salvador Dali, Frida Kahlo and Rene Magritte; in literature, my influences were Edgar Allan Poe, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, Franz Kafka, Camus, and many others. In music, I am a post-punk fan and have been for decades… I appreciate Robert Smith (of “The Cure”), Martin Gore (of “Depeche Mode”), Siouxsie and the Banshees, the Sisters of Mercy, and many others.
"app 4 distractions 2"
acrylic, oil, ink & pencils on paper
18 x 24 in © 2011 Gabriel Navar
"Judith Beheading Holofernes", painted in 1598 by Caravaggio, can be found at Galleria Nazionale d'Arte Antica at Palazzo Barberini, Rome, Italy. The subject matter, the beheading of Holofernes, was a popular subject and has also been painted by Donatello, Sandro Botticelli, Andrea Mantegna, Giorgione, Artemisia Gentileschi, and Lucas Cranach the Elder, to name a few. My take on the grizzly scene has Judith being distracted - while in the act of beheading Holofernes - by a text from "mom" reminding her that when she has completed her "deed", to not forget to pick up bread and milk from the market.
"File:Judith Beheading Holofernes - Caravaggio.jpg" by Caravaggio is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
4. Has your geographic location played an influence on your artwork?
Although I have travelled quite a bit (mostly to the East Coast, Europe, and Central America), I have lived in the San Francisco/Bay Area most of my life. The sunny skies perhaps have “affected” the bright colors of some of my compositions.
https://www.facebook.com/gabrielnavar/ "instagrammin' giddiness"© GN 2015 22" x 14 1/4";acrylic, pencils, ink & oil on paper
5. Has the coronavirus given you new ideas or inspiration to portray?
The coronavirus/COVID-19/pandemic certainly has provided “fuel” for my work because most of my work for the last year or so has involved references to masks, quarantine, social-distancing. I personally enjoy “Pop Art”, Surrealism, and art history… I have been combining these “themes” with the issues of the coronavirus in some deliberate way.
6. Did you train as an artist, or are you self-taught? If you went to school, what classes/subjects/teachers were the most helpful? What do you think is your responsibility as an artist? Best piece of advice you can give to future artists/creatives?
I am mostly self-taught although I have taken several studio and art history courses. I work on my drawings and paintings almost on a daily basis. I do have a Master’s degree in Fine Arts and have studied the history, theories, and criticisms of art/art practice. I find that my most meaningful experiences were those where I made relationships with other students and instructors. My life-long friend, former professor and mentor, was Mel Ramos (Mel passed away in October 2018 and many of us are still mourning and missing him). We met when I was his student back in the early 1990s at California State University, East Bay at Hayward. He taught me many things, including to “follow your bliss”. That has been my mantra for a life-time. My responsibility as an artist is to be true to myself… Follow your vision, follow your bliss! As we all know, art may be political (activism), art may be about science, art may be spiritual, art may be about story-telling (documentation)… I appreciate those “themes”/goals… art, in my view, should also be educational and fun!!
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