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Gabriel García Román
Born: 1973, Zacatecas, Mexico
Nationality: Mexican American
Profession: Visual artist, photographer
Identities: Queer, immigrant
Pronouns: He/him
Overview
Gabriel García Román is a queer Mexican American visual artist known for blending photography with religious iconography to honor LGBTQIA+ people of color. His most well-known series, Queer Icons, reframes queer and trans individuals as saints and deities. By using sacred visual language, García Román elevates identities that are often excluded from traditional narratives.
As a formerly undocumented immigrant raised in Chicago, he draws from personal and community experience. His work centers on representation, spiritual reclamation, and cultural affirmation. Through photography layered with textures and symbols, he creates art that turns marginalized lives into divine icons.
Early Life and Education
Born in Zacatecas, Mexico, Gabriel García Román immigrated to the United States as a child and was raised in Chicago. Growing up between cultures and identities shaped his understanding of invisibility and resistance.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts from The City College of New York, focusing on studio art. His academic training combined with his lived experience formed the foundation for his visual language.
Career and Artistic Work
Queer Icons
García Román’s Queer Icons series is a response to the lack of representation of queer people of color in both religious and mainstream imagery. Drawing inspiration from Catholic and Orthodox iconography, each portrait features a subject surrounded by gold accents, halo-like designs, and regal compositions.
The people he photographs are often activists, artists, and community leaders. They choose their poses, attire, and how they want to be represented. Each portrait celebrates the subject’s individuality and power.
His process includes photography, screen printing, and collage. He builds visual layers that reflect the layered nature of identity. The result is a gallery of queer reverence that claims space in both spiritual and cultural realms.
Other Work
Outside of Queer Icons, García Román has explored topics such as masculinity, immigration, family, and visibility. His broader body of work is unified by a commitment to justice, beauty, and dignity.
His art has been shown in exhibitions across the United States, including the National Portrait Gallery in Washington DC, and in New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Themes and Impact
Central to García Román’s work is the concept of sacred visibility. He creates space for queer and trans people of color to be seen as holy, whole, and powerful.
By combining traditional religious aesthetics with contemporary identities, his art confronts the exclusions of both organized religion and dominant culture. His portraits become sites of healing, resistance, and celebration.
His work is widely used in educational settings and LGBTQIA+ programming. For many, his art is not only beautiful, but also affirming and life-giving.
Legacy and Influence
García Román is part of a larger movement of queer and Latinx artists who challenge norms through visual storytelling. His contributions to queer art are recognized in galleries, community projects, and academic discussions.
He continues to influence new artists who explore identity, culture, and resistance through visual media. His portraits invite viewers to imagine a world where every queer person of color is sacred.
Selected Exhibitions
- National Portrait Gallery, Washington DC
- BRIC Arts Media, Brooklyn
- La Mama Galleria, New York
- Leslie-Lohman Museum of Art, New York
- Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach
Quotes
“As an artist, I wanted to give back to the community that gave me so much.”
“There’s a power in seeing yourself reflected in a divine light.”
“These portraits are altars to our resilience.”
Ongoing Legacy
Gabriel García Román continues to create powerful work that centers queer, brown, and immigrant experiences. His portraits offer not just visibility, but reverence.
Through exhibitions, community engagement, and artistic mentorship, he affirms that queer people of color belong at the center of sacred narratives. His art reminds us that divinity is not reserved for the few. It lives within the people who fight, love, and endure.
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