Marisabel Gonzalez

Marisabel Gonzalez is a Latin-American contemporary artist exploring visual storytelling through abstract painting, emphasising the emotional dimensions of human nature, the psychological impact of color, and the potential of color as a powerful means of communication.

Gonzalez’s vibrant and lively abstract works are marked by the use of vivid colors, expressive mark-making, gestural interventions, and the incorporation of text. At the root of her artistic practice, one encounters visual analogies with her background in medical imaging, as the mark-making is influenced by the echo patterns of an ultrasound monitor and the ongoing correlation between the process of painting and medical imaging layering the composition or image by the manner of a question-and-answer approach.

Marisabel Gonzalez was born in 1973 in Caracas, Venezuela, and currently resides and works in Sydney, Australia. She studied Drawing and Painting (2002) at the Armando Reveron National Art School in Caracas, Venezuela; Drawing and Oil Painting (2003) at the Weston Art Institute in Weston, Florida, the United States of America; Mixed Media Painting (2013) at the Ewart Art School and Gallery in Sydney, Australia; Painting (2016) at the National Art School in Sydney, Australia; and Art History and Appreciation (2017) at the Art Institute in Sydney, Australia. Gonzalez also obtained the title of Doctor of Medicine (2001) at the Universidad Central de Venezuela in Caracas, Venezuela. Notable exhibitions include solo presentations at the Curl Curl Creative Space (2020) in Sydney, Australia, and Arianne Paffrath (2017) in Düsseldorf, Germany, accompanied by group shows at the Parliament House of NSW (2019) in Sydney, Australia; the Manly Art Gallery and Museum (2019) in Sydney, Australia; ASD (2017) in Den Haag, the Netherlands; and the Sydney Breast Cancer Institute (2016) in Sydney, Australia; to name just a few. Gonzalez has received various honors over the past eight years in Sydney, encompassing two selections for the Warringah Creative Space Residency (2015 & 2016), three selections as the artist-in-residence at the Bushwick South Studio Residency Program (2016, 2017 & 2019), a selection as a finalist for Thirty by Thirty (2016), two selections as a finalist for the Bluethumb Art Prize (2020 & 2021), and most recently a selection as a finalist for the Paddington Art Prize (2021), Winner of the Collabor8 Women Art Prize (2023) and Semifinalist of the Lucca Biennale Cartasia, Italy (2024). As a result, her works feature in various public collections, encompassing the Barclays Private Bank in Sydney, Australia; the Stiftung Kleine Kunstdialog West/Ost in Düsseldorf, Germany; the Axicorp Corporate Collections in Singapore and London, the United Kingdom and various private collections across the globe.

by Julien Delagrange (Contemporary Art Issue, Chief Editor)

Born in 1973 in Caracas, VE

Resides and works in Sydney, AU

 Education & Training:

2017, Art History And Appreciation, The Art Institute, Sydney, AU

2016, Painting (tutored by Roger Crawford), National Art School, Sydney, AU

2013, Mixed Media Painting (tutored by Judith White), Ewart Art School and Gallery, Sydney, AU

2003, Drawing and Oil Painting (tutored by Conchita Firgau), Weston Art Institute, Weston, Florida, US

2002, Drawing and Painting, Armando Reveron National Art School, Caracas, VE

2001, Doctor of Medicine, Universidad Central de Venezuela, Caracas, VE

Selected exhibitions:

2024, Uneven Terrain: Surveying the Landscape curated by Rhonda Davis, Lane Cove Regional Art Gallery, Sydney AU

2023, Connected (group presentation), Ellipsis Gallery, Sydney AU

2023, Palimpsest (solo exhibition), Hake House of Art, Sydney AU

2023 Affordable Art Fair (group presentation), MG & Co Art Gallery, Sydney AU

2022, Fiesta (solo exhibition), the Other Art Fair, Sydney, AU

2022, Affordable Art Fair (art fair—group presentation), Lara Scolari Gallery, Sydney, AU

2021, Boring No More (solo exhibition), MG Art Studio, Sydney, AU

2021, The Padding Art Prize Finalists Exhibition (art prize—group presentation), Defiance Gallery, Sydney, AU

2021, Abstraction (group exhibition), The Space Gallery, Sydney, AU

2021, Spring Forward: No Falling Back (group exhibition), The Wellington Gallery, Sydney, AU

2020, Inward (solo exhibition), Curl Curl Creative Space, Sydney, AU

2020, Common Ground (group exhibition), VANDAL Sydney, Sydney, AU

2019, Handle with Care (art fair—solo presentation), The Other Art Fair, Sydney AU

2019, Colors and Shapes of NSW (group exhibition), Parliament House of NSW, Sydney, AU

2019, Summer Show (group exhibition), Sydney Road Gallery, Sydney, AU

2019, HOME Bi-annual Finalists Exhibition (art prize—group presentation), Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney, AU

2019, Abstraction of Light (group exhibition), Gallery 307, Northbridge, AU

2018, Summer (art fair—solo presentation), The Other Art Fair, Sydney, AU

2018, It’s a Wrap (group exhibition), Sydney Road Gallery, Sydney, AU

2018, Studio Stories (group exhibition), Sydney Road Gallery, Sydney, AU

2017, Destination: Color (solo exhibition), Arianna Paffrath, Düsseldorf, DE

2017, Against the Wall (solo exhibition), Gaffa Creative Precinct, Sydney, AU

2017, Colours in D Minor (solo exhibition), Art2Muse Gallery, Sydney, AU

2017, LAND Bi-annual Finalists Exhibition (art prize—group presentation), Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney, AU

2017, 15th International Art Exhibition (group exhibition), ASD Den Haag, Den Haag, NL

2016, Fresh Batch #4 (group exhibition), Platform 72 Gallery, Sydney, AU

2016, Annual Charity Auction (auction—group presentation), Sydney Breast Cancer Institute, Sydney

2016, 4 Corners (group exhibition), Warringah Creative Space, Sydney, AU

2015, H-Art (group exhibition), Stir-Up Gallery, Sydney, AU

2015, Converging Latitudes (group exhibition), Warringah Creative Space, Sydney, AU

Awards & Residencies:

2023, Lubica Biennale Cartasia (semi-finalist), Lucca, Italy

2023, Collabor8 Women Art Prize (winner), Sydney, AU

2021, The Paddington Art Prize (finalist), Sydney, AU

2021, Bluethumb Art Prize (finalist), Sydney, AU

2020, Bluethumb Art Prize (finalist), Sydney, AU

2019, Bushwick South Studio Residency Program (artist in residence), Sydney, AU

2017, Bushwick South Studio Residency Program (artist in residence), Sydney, AU

2016, Thirty by Thirty (finalist), Colour Trap Gallery, Sydney, AU

2016, Warringah Creative Space Residency (Round 4), Sydney, AU

2016, Bushwick South Studio Residency Program (artist in residence), Sydney, AU

2015, Warringah Creative Space Residency (Round 3), Sydney, AU

Collections:

Barclays Private Bank, Sydney AU

Stiftung Kleine Kunstdialog West/Ost, Düsseldorf, AU

AXICORP Corporate Collection, Singapore, SG

AXICORP Corporate Collection, London, UK

Private collections in Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, the United States of America, the Arab Emirates, Canada, Sinagapore, and Australia

Press & Publications:

2023, Five questions to Marisabel Gonzalez, Interview (by Art Radar), New and Abstract Magazine, Germany

2023, Marisabel Gonzalez: Palimpsest, Exhibition feature (by Maxime Foucquet), Contemporary Art Issue, Belgium

2022, Bright, bold, and beautiful abstract artworks (interview), Style Curator Magazine, AU

2022, In Conversation with Marisabel Gonzalez (interview), Art Edit Magazine, AU

2022, Marisabel Gonzalez (artist feature), Artsy Shark Magazine

2021, Oh Yeah: Marisabel Gonzalez (artist feature & interview), The Tawny Frogmouth, Sydney, AU

2021, Colorful Abstractions: Beyond notions of sickness and health (essay by Emma K. Wilson), Hunter & Folk

2021, Exploring the landscape through abstract art (essay by Emma K. Wilson), This is Tomorrow

2021, The Story Behind Art and Medicine (artist talk), Manly Art Gallery and Museum, Sydney, AU

2021, Against The Wall (essay by Sofia Gronbech-Wright), The Weekender, Australian Review. Sydney, AU

2017, Destination Colour (essay by Dagmar Haas-Pilwat), Düsseldorf, DE

2017, Lie Blingstill (essay by Petra Dieners), Düsseldorf, DE

2017, Euro TV (interview Katherina Zilkowski), Düsseldorf, DE