Local Artist GG, AKA Gabriel Gimenez, Prepares For First Solo Show and Auction

When asked about high profile exposure at Art Basel last year and a group showing with other Miami artists at the Brera Museum in Milan, GG smiles almost giddily. "It's fun," he says. "Right after high school I had a vision of where I wanted to go, and I've been able to see that my work ethic is good. I'm focused. I know what I want. I just haven't looked back and anywhere else but forward, and that's where that's taken me."

Harrison says there's nothing surprising about GG being so young and interesting to the art world, as he feels the art speaks for itself. However, what he did find unusual about GG is his dedication to his dream of making a proper living as an artist. "There's not many guys that young that have the drive and ambition," Harrison says, "and there's just a lot of talented people who don't have the balls, and that's what you have to do, even though you don't know where you're next meal is coming from. You just have to go balls out and just paint and that's it."

However, GG remains humble. He talks about a love for art documentaries and an openness to criticism from other artists and former teachers. Key to GG's aesthetic is his how in tune he is with humankind. He's donated art for benefits that generated funding to many groups that help children with special needs. He has a giant paddleboard leaning in one corner of his studio that he plans to paint for an auction benefiting Broward County Schools. "I think it's cool to see people's reaction and how they appreciate what you're doing for them," he says.

GG says he finds enrichment in interacting with anybody and everybody. "There's this guy with a little cart selling sno-cones by the Home Depot on Eighth Street. I bumped into him once and said, 'Dude, let me paint your cart. That's a cool cart you have.' This guy was so appreciative of me painting his cart, he gave me a free cone," he says with a laugh. "Having that connection with people that may not be able to go to a gallery, who may not be able to see art at these galleries or these events, they still have a lot to offer. They ground you so much, and you learn from what they're going through."

Paintings by GG (Gabriel Gimenez): No-Reserve Auction, LMNT, 59 NW 36th St., Miami. Saturday, September 1, reception 7 p.m., auction 8:30 p.m.

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