Gabriela Horikawa
"Gabriela Horikawa’s gripping paintings, many done with a palette knife, feel quite a bit cooler,
but no less wet. Among other images, she’s given us a street scene of rainy Liverpool, all grey
and blue shapes on a crowded street, everything squelching in the spaces between buildings.
Better still is an image of a chilly interior with a chair in the distance and huddled human figures
in the foreground. It might take a moment to figure the painting out. Then, in an upswelling of
mood and drama, it coalesces”. Jersey City Times - JCAST22: Eleven Marvelous Things at MANA
Contemporary - by Tris McCall - October 7, 2022
Gabriela Horikawa is a Peruvian-born American artist based in Flanders, New Jersey. Having
initially pursued studies in interior design and interior architecture, it was during a year living
abroad in Italy that she encountered the works of Nicolas de Stael and fell in love with impasto,
thick paint, and palette knives. Now focused on exploring the relationship between spaces and
figures within these techniques, she composes striking works that encourage contemplation
and individual interpretation, particularly heightened by the fact that most pieces are untitled.
Gabriela has been painting and exhibiting her work for over ten years, and is held in various
private collections in England, Italy, France, Philippines, Luxembourg, Germany, Peru, and US.
Camila Lacroze
She works as a visual artist and teacher in Punta del Este. She is currently pursuing a Master's Degree in Art and Visual Culture at the Faculty of Arts of Montevideo and previously graduated from the Faculty of Chemistry. She trained in the workshops of different artists in Montevideo and took contemporary art courses at the Espacio de Arte Contemporáneo and the Fundación de Arte Contemporáneo.
This year she received the FEFCA scholarship with which she will carry out a painting residency at the ESKFF Foundation in New Jersey. Her work has been selected as a prize in the Urban Planning Career of the Ministry of Transport and Public Works (2021), in the 2021 edition of the Night of Museums, in the National Prize for Visual Arts (2020), in the Paul Cézanne Prize ( 2020, honorable mention), in the residences of the Contemporary Art Space (2018), in the calls of the French Alliance (2017), among others. She has exhibited individually and collectively in Uruguay, Peru (Galería TM, Lima), Brazil (San Pablo, Uberbau_house) and her work is found in private collections in Uruguay, Argentina and the United States.
Jonathan Simon
In the heart of Roselle Park, New Jersey, resides Jonathan Simon—a first-generation Portuguese American painter and sculptor. Jonathan’s artistic journey finds roots in the captivating world of carnivorous plants, which he cultivates with passion and curiosity. As a self-taught artist, he embraces the freedom to explore diverse mediums. Most recently, oil paintings and works on paper serve as their canvas to capture the intricate beauty of these unique botanical specimens. Jonathan’s creative process is a continuous experiment, a journey of learning new techniques and pushing the boundaries of materials and forms.
A significant milestone in Jonathan’s journey was the ReImagine exhibition at the Newark Museum of Art (2021) where his work was awarded first place in one of five categories.
In Jonathan's art, the aim is to spark wonder and curiosity, inviting viewers to delve into the details of the natural world. Each brushstroke and sculptural form tells a story of self-discovery and creative exploration. Through his art, Jonathan communicates a universal language of creativity that transcends cultural boundaries, inviting viewers to partake in a shared journey of aesthetic wonder.