The Eraser, 1980

Gabriela Simossi worked in the framework of representational art, but in a manner which served to bring inspirations with a strong surrealistic and at the same time poetic character to fruition, based in large part on memories derived from ancient Greek sculpture. The mutilated statues for the most part became the motivation to produce her own fragmentary compositions, which have an enigmatic style and are emotionally charged, most likely as the result of her own personal experiences. The whiteness of plaster, furthermore, of a material she makes frequent use of, contributes to an impression of silence and confinement in her work, qualities that can be recognized in a considerable number of her works.

In “The Eraser” the dominant element is the feeling of non-existence. A female face, melancholic but at the same time resolved, a type repeated in rather a large number of her works, is projected in relief within an indeterminate environment and is seen disappearing slowly under the movement of an eraser which leaves its traces on the surface in a symbolic gesture of deleting the being.