Gabriela Szulman, a south London mixed-media artist who has worked within the area for nearly a decade, will showcase her latest pieces through the online platform Artsy, which starts on December 1st-31st.
Born in Buenos Aires, Argentina, she moved to London when she was 17 to study psychology at the University of surrey, specializing in mental health rehabilitation . once realizing this wasn’t her passion, She later trained at Camberwell’s University of the Arts, London campus studying ceramics, and went on to complete a master’s in printmaking through a Brighton University satellite programme in Notting Hill.
Her influences range from American artist Joseph Cornell, to collagist Peter Blake, creator of the Beatles’ album cover. She also draws inspiration from magazines, illustrated French dictionaries and the life of Frida Kahlo. whose story she describes as ‘very interesting’.
Much of Szulman’s career has unfolded in Southwark. She once displayed her work in the display window of a wine bar in Camberwell, placing the dolls to symbolize the unsettling feeling of being watched and confined within the dark times of quarantine during Covid. She later was nominated by the council to collaborate with the waste department and arts teams, having her work displayed on the bin lorries all around Southwark.
Living in Camberwell for years has shown her the community, especially her neighbouring artists at her studio- ‘The Mews’, where they all share and appreciate each others work. She describes Camberwell as “Bohemian and artsy” and said that her studio influencers her creativity. “Its about the space and the comfortable feel in my studio”
Szulman has taught art workshops for around eight to nine years, meeting a wide range of local resident who shaped her understanding on the community within south-east London. She explained that her creative rituals used to be coffee, radio and film podcasts, but once she started attending meditation retreats, she started to “appreciate silence”.
As Szulman prepares for her virtual exhibition on December 1st, she continues to create unique pieces and prepare her art to be showcased for the world to see.
