"None of This Is Conscious" exerpt from Introduction to APPEARANCES - EXPERIMENTAL PORTRAITURE by Rebecca Gabriel

     "The considerable body of work that Gabriel calls “High Flow” represents an artistic breakthrough.

The plumed and flowing settings of these acrylic portraits provides a generative and flexible set of

unconscious suggestions. Double images (as in “Twins”) and wavelike rhythms (as in “Ghost”) create

both a sense of drama and change. In these works, and the Suminagashi and decorative paper collages

that have accompanied them, Gabriel has entered a new phase of perceptual painting that draws from

a wide range of sources gleaned from both art and nature. They offer a mature artist’s reflections on a

Faustian revelation: the more we know the more we are aware of what we don’t know.

That paradox has been at the heart of Gabriel’s work all along, but it is more active and expansive than

ever in her recent work.

     Finding ways to try and express the mysteries of others through portraiture has taken Rebecca Gabriel

towards her own imaginative core. Her journey has been very rich indeed as she has inched closer and

closer to things that will never be understood."

Rebecca Gabriel gives us potent insight into the inner and outer journey of the artist in critical times. That the journey is one of the woman artist, makes the revelation that much more poignant and profound.  

Dr. Jean Houston, author of A Mythic Journey and A Passion for the Possible. 

Rebecca Gabriel's...(art) is a primary source for those interested in the medium of portraiture and in self-portraiture through the craft of oil painting, Her technical and formal expertise lends itself to an abundance of content, which suggests that painting as an expressive vehicle must first come to terms with painting as a formal language. Gabriel reverses the claim that feminism in art requires a contrary approach to the medium. In fact, the work of this artist does precisely the opposite. Her ingenuity in perceiving her subjects -- including herself -- depends on an ability to understand painting as a language. By understanding the personal aspects of this language, the artist is the capable of projecting content in a subtle and affective manner. I understand "A Woman's Journey" as being about a search for reality, an intimate reality that painting of this order makes possible.      Robert C. Morgan, International art critic, and crittic for Sculpture Magazine               This monograph is a poetic voyage in image and word through the career of Rogue Valley figurative painter Rebecca Gabriel.  Her paintings, here detailed over several decades, evolve to exhibit Old Master and Quattrocento techniques and sensibilities in the service of contemporary psychological depth and modern themes.  In RG’s realism, a pattern is more than just a pattern---deeper waters are stirred. The accompanying text by the artist, a wonderful guide to her oeuvre, creates a lovely synergy and rhythm to this exquisite book. This is a work that flows.  We hope to see a volume II.                        K. Davidson - Book review for "Woman's Journey" - Bloomsbury Books, Ashland, OR

"Blue Sarah" DETAIL mixed media

Rebecca Gabriel's dedication to delve deeply into the subject, combined with the contemporary realism of her painting, reveals both the psychological and the physical aspects of her subjects. Her paintings are...powerfully beautiful, as well as disarming in their honesty and depth.   Judy Barnes, Executive Director, Rogue Gallery and Art Center, Medford, OR

Gabriel approachs her work with a distinct intensity, seeking the emotional core...She captures the sensual, expressive, and numinous aspects of her subject matter...Her unique style masterfully employs surface juxtaposition, chiaroscuro, and dramatic lighting. In a timely synthesis, Gabriel weaves both "old master" and contemporary realism together to create her luminous, descriptive, and penetrating work.

Nany Jane Reid, director, Newport Visual Arts Center, Newport, OR