Imagine if Sofia Vergara could paint with the skill of Frida Kahlo, and you’d have a pretty accurate mental snapshot of pop artist, Gilda Garza.  Mexico’s spiciest export since the habanero, Garza’s latest series of paintings – The Warriors – speaks to the heart of the artist, herself.  A fiercely passionate woman from Mexico’s infamous Sinaloa region, Garza grew-up surrounded by war and strife; yet each of her canvases has been imbued by her, with a sense of joy bordering on euphoria.

While never formally schooled in painting, she inherited a love for the medium from both sides of her family (her mother, and her paternal grandmother are both artists), and began to paint, as a young girl of five.  As she grew-up, witnessing first-hand the mayhem brought-on by the cartels; and later, suffering a tragic break-up; she poured her raw emotions into her paintings – conveying her innermost self through a smart, pop-sensibility as well as a savvy use of color. 

“My grandfather was kidnapped, six months ago; and kept in a house, for one week,” Garza tells me, by way of explaining how her finest works are the result of having drawn creativity and inspiration from pain and suffering.  We are seated in a booth, during her latest exhibition, on the Terrace of OMNIA Nightclub, at Caesars Palace, overlooking the famous Las Vegas Strip.  “Once he was safely returned to us, I became inspired; because I see my grandfather as a warrior.  When he was starting-out in life, he did not sit around, waiting for someone to give him a hand-out.  He went out there, and made it happen, for himself.”

In speaking to her use of vibrant and bold colors, Garza says “I fight for my dreams.  I dream in vivid colors; so those are the colors in which I paint.”  She explains that while she’s a fan of numerous styles of art, she takes inspiration from life around her, and experiences, rather than a particular movement, or school of thought (i.e., pop, abstract expressionism, etc.).

“It is good to have a warrior and know that you will always be protected,” the artist explains (herself, a powerful woman, in the predominantly male-dominated world of fine art), “but we cannot expect someone else to protect us. You are your own warrior and you can fight for your own dreams. Fight for what you love – your family and for your country. That’s my inspiration for The Warriors.  I love my warrior, because he reminds me of who I am.”

I was most taken, though, with her motto for life.  “If you’re going to do something (anything), you’ve gotta go in, and kick some ass.”  Words to live by, as delivered by a modern-day vixen, in a clingy leopard print dress that makes “va-va-voom” seem sadly lacking.

Continuing down this path, Garza continues, “I decided, long ago, that whatever I do, I would approach it from the heart, and with love.  And that’s the best advice I can give: follow your heart, and do it with love.  I have.”

The Warriors
Gilda Garza
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