José Gabriel Fernández's molded wood and gessoed sculptures are derived from the fabric patterns that articulate the matador's costume. These subtly undulating and reductive forms rest discreetly upon integral pedestals or commandingly occupy spaces on the floor. Fernández's work of the past three years concentrates on the rituals that surround the fiesta brava, including the private "dressing ceremony" (ceremonia de vestiduras) with emphasis on the traje de luces, or "suit of lights". They refer to the travelling-artist nature of the matador and some of the more intimate narratives such as the relationship of the matador to his assistant.

The body of the bullfighting matador is central to these new works through a reconfiguring of the constituent panels of his outfits suggestive of the body as an architectural site connecting these rituals. Free from narrative excess, this new work overcomes its formalism through a delicate transit between the concrete and abstract.

Fernández grew up in Venezuela and has exhibited widely in the US, Europe, and Venezuela. He is an alumnus of the Whitney Independent Study Program and is a recipient of a Pollock-Krasner grant.