gabrielle benot
form, color, and stylistic freedom
Gabrielle uses her technique to experiment with abstract forms and non-figurative art styles in an effort to reach a kind of fresh, diverse, and emotionally expressive art that more often than not has a voice of its own.
Born in Latvia, Ms. Gabrielle Benot had a natural gift for artistic creativity from a young age. She had a keen interest in sketching, drawing, and sculpting. She matured as an artist over time, often under the guidance of her grandfather who was a self-taught painter. Eventually, she would study fashion design at the Royal Fashion Academy (Margrethe Skolen) in Copenhagen. Several of her teachers include Andrea Rushing, known for his Steampunk aesthetic, and Jeffrey Watts. Gabrielle has also been influenced and inspired by Lee Krasner, Gustav Klimt, Joan Mitchell, Joan Brown, Willem De Kooning.
Her style reflects (in her earlier works ) an interest in partial figurative representation and a reduction of subject matter into minimalistic elements. Additionally, many of Ms. Benot’s paintings materialize from and are inspired by a variety of sources- some of these include magazines, alluring private snapshots based on luxury fashion branding, and the equestrian lifestyle. She has used many of these sources to develop a technique of her own that includes the use of wet brushes, dry brushes, palette knives, metal chains, natural crystals, gold leaf, mica flakes, and semi-precious stones. Concentrating on form, color, and a sense of stylistic freedom, Gabrielle uses light and shadow in some of her images to approach a semi-abstract impressionistic design that has been described as “unsettling,” “accusatory,” and “exotic”.
Gabrielle has been an active participant in Thoroughbred Charities of America, Retired Racehorse Association, and PDJF that took place at 2021* and 2019* Breeders Cups.