Photographer: Heike Dempster
Reinier Gamboa - Basquiat
Photographer: Heike Dempster
Reinier Gamboa - UFOs and the Shapeshifter
Cuban born, Miami artist Reinier Gamboa talks about his art, his new book, and the exhibition that made an impact.
Where are you from and how long have you been in Miami?
I was born in Cuba and immigrated to Miami at the age of 11. I then moved to Pasadena, Calif., to attend art college for four years and then moved back in 2006. I have been here since.
What do you love most about Miami?
What I love the most about this city is not even the city itself but the location. I like the ocean and ever shifting display of clouds the best.
Does your heritage inform your art?
Although it’s not apparent because I don’t usually use traditionally Cuban motifs in my work, my experiences as a child growing up in a different country and culture are a fundamental part of who I am and therefore, whether apparent or not, inform my art in more subtle ways.
How would you describe your art?
My art is an exploration. I am interested in surprising myself and exploring my subconscious. It is poetic and a bit like living in a waking dream.
What is your favorite medium and why?
Oil paints are my favorite because of the historical tradition of the practice. Also, in a very visceral way, I love the feel and handle of oil paint. It is a very sensual medium that has allowed me through its use to learn a lot about subtlety.
Photographer: Heike Dempster
Renier Gamboa - Wounded Bird
Can you share some career highlights with us please?
I’ve been included in group shows with some very talented artists like Phil Hale and Carol Prusa. In 2012 I won first place at the "Figure Now" show at Fontbonne University in St. Louis, Mo.
You just released a new limited edition book of your work. Please tell us more and let us know how interested readers can contact you.
The book is called Transitions and it’s a collection of images that draw on the full range of my work. Each page of every spread is selected to compliment the one adjacent to it with the purpose to make new connections and establish new relationships between works that may not have been apparent when the work was completed. It is a playful yet thoughtful arrangement. I decided to call it Transitions because I feel the title reflects an awareness of change and evolution. We are always in a state of transition. (Those interested in purchasing a copy can email [email protected]).
Please elaborate on some of the main topics you explore in your art.
Free association and the expansion of my ability to imagine are pivotal to my practice. Subconscious imagery is the raw material which the conscious mind uses to project familiar forms upon. I believe in finding the unfamiliar in the familiar and vice versa. Identity is my most important concern because it leads down a series of questions that expand the human experience and how we define ourselves. My goal is identifying with reality as a totality and shaking off outmoded divisions that trap and seek to control human potential. If I can express this through my art and trigger the viewer’s imagination, then I feel I’ve succeeded.
Can you tell us about a work of art, artist or exhibition you have encountered and had a profound impact on you?
The Wangechi Mutu exhibition at the Brooklyn Museum really impressed me. The way she effortlessly combined different media into a cohesive body of work left a strong impact in me, along with her way of exploring the topics of race, power and femininity.
Do you have any upcoming exhibitions or new projects?
I show regularly at Brisky Gallery in Wynwood. I will be having a solo exhibit titled Transitions this September at the Palm Beach State College in Lake Worth.
Photographer: Heike Dempster
Reinier Gamboa - Aboriginals
