Araceli Gilbert

Who was Araceli Gilbert?

Araceli Gilbert was an Ecuadorian artist.

Gilbert enrolled in the School of Fine Arts in Santiago de Chile in 1936, studying under Jorge Caballero and Hernán Gazmurri, well-known encouragers of the Chilean plastic rebellion that later transformed into the Montparnasse group. In 1942, Gilbert returned to Guayaquil to study under Hans Michaelson. Through Michaelson Gilbert learned about European Expressionism and her work from this period was mostly figurative. At this time Gilbert was also part of an intellectual group from Guayaquil known as the Society of Independent Writers and Artists.

In 1943 Gilbert finished her dissertation in Painting, Sculpture and Art History from the School of Fine Arts in Guayaquil. Shortly thereafter, Gilbert moved to New York, where she studied at the Ozenfant Art School as a disciple of Amédée Ozenfant, one of the fathers of post-cubist purism and takes an important step towards the development of her own style.

In 1946, at the end of World War II, Araceli returned to Ecuador and moved to the capital city, Quito. In 1950 she traveled to Paris and contacted Auguste Herbin, who in 1931 had created the Abstraction-Création Group. With the guidance of Herbin, Gilbert learned to combine the geometrical and abstract concepts, subjecting them to mathematical rigor. Gilbert participated in the Spanish American Anti-biennial organized by Picasso, as well as several group shows such as the Salon des Réalités Nouvelles.