Who: Gabriel Garcia Roman is a Mexican born artist and photographer, who moved to San Francisco and grew up in Chicago before settling in NYC for the last 15 years. He began exploring photography when he moved to NYC, and has gained recognition for his unique use of mixed media, textures and colors with his photographs.
Why You Should Follow Him: Garcia Roman’s work has most recently taken a life of its own with his gorgeous photo series, Queer Icons. He took portraits of his friends and acquaintances, naturalized and undocumented immigrants, artists and activists. As he explained to NPR, “I wanted to specifically focus on this community because queer and trans people of color are so rarely represented in the art world.” The portraits are influenced by the religious artwork that many Latin Americans grow up with, and turned in into something with even deeper meaning than ever before.
“I wanted to represent them as saints…I wanted them to be warriors — that’s why a lot of them are looking straight at the camera, saying ‘Here I am, and I’m not going to hide.’”
Sample Photos: