Vinas

GABRIEL VINAS
(786) 419-8176 – gvinas@asu.edu – pithecus.org – @gabrielvinasart
BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION
Gabriel Vinas is a Cuban-American artist whose work exists at the crossroads of
classical sculpture and the anatomical sciences who has earned his Master’s Degree at
Arizona State University. After immigrating to the United States at the age of five, his
parents made every sacrifice necessary to nurture Gabriel’s creative drives; through
formal training and self-directed investigation, he quickly gained command of various
materials and techniques, mainly the painting and drawing of the human form which he
thought would be his career focus. However, as life seldom goes according to plan, due
to a scheduling mix-up, Gabriel was left with no other option other than taking ceramics
as his art elective in his second year of high school. This was his first exposure to the
joys of sculpting, which resulted in him never painting anything of note ever again. He’s
been sculpting since that fateful encounter fifteen years ago. Since then, he has added
oil-based clay, wax, bronze, and even marble to his material repertoire while remaining
faithful to his calling of depicting the human form. So much so, that Gabriel’s research
interest as an academic and graduate of ASU is human anatomy, a field that he is
published in as part of a collaborative team of scientists.
EDUCATION
MFA in Sculpture, August 2018-2021, GPA: 4.0 Arizona State University, Tempe
BFA in Sculpture, August 2010-2014 GPA: 3.84 Magna Cum Laude, College for Creative
Studies, Detroit
Professional Automotive Modeling Certification 2013-2014 GPA: 4.0, College for
Creative Studies, Detroit
High School Diploma with Visual Arts emphasis 2006-2010 GPA: 4.7 New World School
of the Arts, Miami
RELATED WORK EXPERIENCE
Faculty at Arizona State University 2019 - 2021
o Portrait Sculpting and Anatomy Course 2021
o Figure Sculpting and Anatomy Course 2020
o 3D Design Course 2019 - 2021

Clay Modeler at Ford Motor Company 2014 - 2018
o Clay Modeler Salaried Employee January 2017 – 2018
o Clay Modeler: Bartech Group assigned at Ford Motor Company, August 2014
- December 2016
o Clay Modeling Intern: Technicon Design assigned at Ford Motor Company,
May - August 2014
Villafane Studios: Sculptor and Carver, September 2013 - 2019
Food Network’s “Halloween Wars” Contestant and Winner, October 2013
Clay Modeling Intern: General Motors, June - August 2012
The Art Experience: Carver, October 2012
Villafane Studios: Sculpting Assistant, May 2012
EXHIBITIONS
2021
Thesis Exhibition Fall 2021 – Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
TAG Exhibition – Step Gallery, Phoenix, AZ
Heroes of Horsepower – Motor Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Daytona, FL
2020
AAG Scholarship Exhibition - Shermer Art Center and Museum, Phoenix, AZ
Heroes of Horsepower - Motor Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Daytona, FL
2019
Marmusculum - Villa Bertelli at Forte di Marmi, Pietra Santa, Italy
Simmer Down - Gallery 100, Tempe, AZ
Metamorphosis - Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
Heroes of Horsepower - Motor Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Daytona, FL
2018
Beauty In-Form - Arthous Grand, Phoenix, AZ
Afarensis Exhibit,
MFA 2018 - Harry Wood Gallery, Tempe, AZ
Heroes of Horsepower -Motor Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Daytona, FL
2017

Heroes of Horsepower -Motor Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Daytona, FL
2016
100 Sculptors - 100 Sculptures - Ella Sharpe Museum of Art, Jackson, MI
50 Year Span - with Sergio de Giusti, Brown and Juanita C. Ford Gallery, Taylor, MI
Re:Semblance - Red Bull House of Art, Detroit, MI
Wall of 100 Makers - Masonic Temple, Detroit, MI
Heroes of Horsepower - Motor Sports Hall of Fame Museum, Daytona, FL
2015
Heroes of Horsepower - GM Heritage Center, Sterling Heights, MI
“Art of War” Popps Packing, Hamtramck, MI
2014
Heroes of Horsepower - GM Private Racing Banquet Hall, Romulus, MI
Year-end Student Exhibition - College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
Imperfect Pairs - Popps Packing Gallery, Detroit, MI
Origin(s) II - Thesis Show, U245 Gallery, Detroit, MI
Origin(s) - Thesis Show, Hatch Gallery, Hamtramck, MI
One Night Stand - Re:view Contemporary, Detroit, MI
Paradigm – Haiti Charity Art Exhibition, College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
Gilded – Whidel Arts, Detroit, MI
2013
About: Face – The Rodin, Detroit, MI
2013 CCS Student Exhibition – College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
2012
President’s Collection – Manoogian Visual Resource center Detroit, MI
2012 CCS Student Exhibition – College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI
2011
Detroit GriT – Public Pool, Detroit, MI
Exploding Head –Center Galleries Detroit, MI
2011 CCS Student Exhibition – College for Creative Studies, Detroit, MI 

I Can Not Be Saved Without You – with Artist Leon Johnson, New York, NY
2010


NWSA Senior Student Exhibition – Artseen Gallery Miami, FL
Art Basel NWSA – Artseen Gallery, Miami, FL
NWSA Ceramic Exhibition – New World Gallery, Miami, FL
2009
Marie Walshe Sharpe Art Exhibition – Colorado Springs University, Colorado Springs,
CO
2008
NCECA – David L. Lawrence Convention Center, Pittsburgh, PA

INTRODUCTION
Gabriel has been engaged in collaborative work with various teams for his entire artistic
career; from design modeling at Ford Motor Company to his current scientific work, he
has learned to manage the desires, worldviews, and interests of others while staying true
to his artistic vision. This experience will come into play when engaged in the
collaborative production of the sculpture with a foundry and supporting artisans. ASU’s
art department (of which Gabriel is an MFA graduate) has a long-standing working
relationship with Bollinger Atelier and will likely be the Foundry to produce the work
should he be chosen. Gabriel’s focus when depicting his subjects is to evoke a sense of
lived experience and gravity - particularly in the portraits of his creations. He also has a
keen interest in, and proclivity to, utilize drapery as a sculptural element within his works.
Given the solemn subject, the proposed monument will tackle, using both of these
elements will surely add a sense of emotional gravitas and appropriately honor the
profession and duty that our firefighters deserve, and add a sense of serenity and/or
drama to any figure or scene that is eventually proposed. A figure or scene that honors
the bravery and sacrifice of our first responders.

IMAGE LIST
GV-1 Santa Lucia
Carrara Marble, 2019
3’5”x2’x2’
Santa Lucia was carved as part of the Digital Stone residency in Italy. It is a blend of Gabriel’s
classical sculpture background and his scientific collaborations.
GV-2 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee Portraits
Bronze, 2014-Present
8.5”x 8.5”x1”
Since graduating from the College for Creative Studies in Detroit, Gabriel has produced the
portraits of the inductees to the Motorsports Hall of Fame of America in Daytona, FL. Each year
he produces 7-10 portraits for the induction ceremony and the permanent collection within the
Museum.
GV-3 Motorsports Hall of Fame of America Inductee Clay Portraits
Oil-Based Clay. 2022
8.5”x 8.5”x1”
More examples of the portraits for the Museum
GV-4 Rodin
Oil-Based Clay, 2015
13.7”x 11.5”x10.5”
Proposal for a permanent installation of Auguste Rodin’s bust at a Detroit restaurant named
“Rodin”. Won best-in-show at their inaugural exhibition, however, the owner lost the business
shortly after the exhibit, and the bronze production fell through. Example of classical portraiture
for the likely event of a portrait being needed for the monument.
GV-5 Pieta
Oil-Based Clay, 2022
4’3”x 3’6”x3’9”
Proposal for 2023’s Digital Stone Residency. This piece will be completed for Bronze casting,
and subsequent Marble execution next year.