Stroll into the Christopher Brodigan Gallery any night, away from the cacophony of Groton life, and let yourself be immersed in the idyllic streets of Colombia and a whirlwind of nimble birds. Juxtaposing the warm hues of orange and gold with rich tints of purple and blue, Daniela Gamba paints an intimate snapshot of Colombia in her exhibition On The Wing.
Daniela Gamba, a Colombian-American digital artist, has been surrounded by art her entire life. Although born and raised in the United States, she maintains strong connections with her Colombian roots and often takes inspiration from the surrounding architecture and landscape while visiting. “Whenever I see [Colombia],” she says, “I just want to draw it! They are so colorful, too. It definitely bleeds into my art, for sure.”
Gamba also emphasizes that her art is meant to “exemplify the beauty of womanhood” and to provide a broad representation of women. Growing up in an environment where there was no one standard skin tone or body type, it was important to Gamba to reflect the diversity in Colombia. As a result, her creations—which depict family and friends—are distinct and expressive of a multitude of backgrounds.
Her passion for fantasy, sci-fi, and discovery comes both from the content she consumes and her inclination towards these themes while doodling. “[Those] are the things that bring me happiness to draw,” Gamba states. She uses giclée—a technique of duplicating fine art through inkjet printers—and metal leaf embellishments to create her current work. Giclée allows her to transfer digital art to a physical canvas, including even the most minute of details through its high-quality production.
Gamba’s artwork is rich and evocative: enter the Brodigan gallery, and you will see the sleepy, content duck gliding into a woman’s inviting hands; a blue truck steadily moving through a dirt road, surrounded by vibrant foliage and telephone poles; and a robot watching the night sky in the grass, the speckle of stars reflecting on its metallic body.
Gamba’s collaboration with Groton — the school’s first exhibition of a digital artist — began when Groton Visual Arts followed her on Instagram, prompting a conversation with Brodigan Gallery Co-Director Jennifer Ho that eventually culminated in her exhibition On the Wing. Although this is her first time working with high schools, Gamba expresses great enthusiasm in expanding to other schools. She emphasizes the importance of gaining new perspectives and building a portfolio: “To be a part of that for other people, I definitely would have loved that when I was in high school, so if I can help a little bit with that, that would be really cool.”
On The Wing will be open in the Christopher Brodigan Gallery from September 17 to November 17.
