Landscape c. 1945

Ramon Gabriel made this watercolor landscape on paper sometime in the mid-20th century, and what strikes me is how the scene is constructed, almost like a collage of watery shapes. The way the paint bleeds and pools, especially in that blue-green mass on the right, it’s like Gabriel is letting the water do its thing, allowing chance to play a role in the image-making. I find my eye lingering on the lower part of that blue-green patch, where darker strokes hint at hidden depths, suggesting more than they reveal. It's the most resolved area of the painting. This embrace of process and openness reminds me a bit of John Marin, another watercolorist who wasn't afraid to let the medium speak for itself. Like Gabriel, he captured something beyond the purely representational, hinting at an inner vision. Ultimately, what I find so compelling about Gabriel’s landscape is its willingness to embrace ambiguity.