Gabriel Marino (b.1997 Miami) is a Cuban interdisciplinary artist with a specialization in contemporary photography in pursuit of documenting ephemeral queer moments and spaces. He produces advertorial-inspired, glitz-heavy imagery delivered through a kitsch, tongue-in-cheek humor to celebrate community and facilitate conversation surrounding the conflicts between Floridian and queer cultures. Marino earned his Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Studio Art with a concentration in photography and Bachelor of Arts degree in Advertisement and Public Relations with a minor in Digital Media from the University of Central Florida in 2021.
ARTIST STATEMENT
My production of advertorial-inspired, glitz-heavy imagery delivered through a kitsch, tongue-in-cheek humor celebrates community and facilitates conversation surrounding the conflicts between Floridian and queer cultures. My subject matter is informed by queer culture and its relation to the environment and my aesthetic elements are inspired by advertorial and commercial photography to create visually appetizing and attention-grabbing images. I reference art history for its heavily produced and staged holy imagery, using artifice as a means for ironic candidness. Through digital compositing and attention-grabbing iconography, the imagery I produce is meant to be an outspoken visual cacophony to establish an intimate and lasting connection between subject and viewer in a positively tacky and extravagant fashion.
VITAE