Artist Biography
Gabi Madrid (Muscogee Creek Nation of Oklahoma, based in Atlanta, GA) is an interdisciplinary artist whose work reflects upon the human experience, focusing on themes of self-development, identity formation, and the unconscious. Moving between installation and sculpture, Madrid invites the viewers to delve into the connections that bind us as individuals and as a society.
An internationally recognized artist, Madrid has exhibited at institutions like the Atlanta Contemporary, Zuckerman Museum of Art – Fine Art Gallery, Corn Arts Center, and the Goat Farm Arts Center. They have received funding from Society of Inclusive Blacksmiths and been awarded the CERF+ Get Ready Grant. They were selected for The Creatives Project Artist-In-Residence program in 2023-2025 and Paint Love’s artist cohort 2023-2024. They continue to aid communities by serving on the board for the Atlanta Green Artist Alliance.
Madrid received their BFA from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2019 and are an MFA candidate at Georgia State University. They started in a blacksmith shop, where they learned to manipulate metal, followed by cabinetry, leading them to build sets for film. After leaving film, Madrid began working on their own projects and a teaching career.
Photos by Roderic C. Williams
Artist Statement
In my practice I explore the tapestry of human experience, focusing on themes of self-development, identity formation, and the collective unconscious. I create books, prints, sculptures and installations that draw inspiration from mythology and mysticism. At its root, my work utilizes narrative world building to tell stories that relate to our humanity.
In earlier works, I use map imagery to serve as a guide for navigating the internal landscape. More recently maps have served as a blueprint for a world filled with mystical landmarks and chimeric creatures. These mythic monsters are connected to the sphinx, phoenix, and dragons of the East and West, as they are symbols for transformation and growth. I interweave indigenous folklore with my personal experiences to tell stories about monsters, both of the physical and internal world, whether the hands of a siren or a two-faced serpent.
In this myth-making process, I engage with aspects of the dream space, imagination, and new possibilities. Through these visual metaphors and allegorical tales I seek to understand how these myths and legends have shaped us as individuals and what they reveal about humans as a collective.