Meet the Artist: Gabriel Gonzalez, GGGFDesign
By Kelli Comer
Inspiration presents itself in many forms, and for local artist Gabriel Gonzalez, his muse comes from the passage of time. Motivated by the features that time has carved into the different materials he finds, Gabriel creates gorgeous, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces and artwork.
“Within the styles of decorative trends, ‘dirty chic’ and industrial design interest and inspire me,” Gabriel notes. “I believe that these styles are for a select group of consumers, and creatives who work within these styles should have knowledge in carpentry, blacksmithing and painting with a very skilled eye.”
Influenced by his older brother’s career as a scenographer, Gabriel became involved in furniture and décor in his teenage years. Even as a younger child, Gabriel was always curious and searched through his brother’s belongings, finding an array of interesting and striking scenography projects.
“I remember he took me to the theater to keep him company while he worked,” Gabriel smiles. “I sat at the front of the stage and watched the creative process for hours.”
Gabriel’s other older brother was a cartoonist with several fascinating drawings that Gabriel tried to reproduce. “It was a favorite hobby of mine to always go through their things and violate their privacy,” laughs Gabriel. “My family clearly had great influence on my interest in designing and building furniture.”
Gabriel has enjoyed a career in the arts in many different ways—researching and training in different scenography, photography, lighting, painting, sculpture, blacksmithing and carpentry techniques. All of these techniques have some influence on his final furniture design, decorative objects and sculptures.
For many years, Gabriel worked for different cultural artistic events in Buenos Aires, Argentina. “I had an art gallery next to my workshop and that allowed me to continually develop all kinds of relationships and different aesthetics,” he notes.
Gabriel has lived in Cleveland for the past two years and he also has a small exhibition space of his own in the Pilsen East artist district of Chicago.
“My goal is also to achieve an exhibition space here in Cleveland, develop new relationships in the artistic community and participate in various cultural events in the region,” exclaims Gabriel.
His process is continuously evolving. “It is my true passion and a part of who I am in my soul,” Gabriel smiles.
“The process behind the creation of my furniture sometimes becomes very personal,” says Gabriel. “Creativity plays a very important role since perfection, for me, is found in imperfection.”
To reach Gabriel, you can email him at info@gggfdesign.com. To find out more about the artist and his work, visit him online at GGGFDesign.com.