As part of our ongoing Awasi Artist Immersion programme, we recently invited visual artist and sculptor Gabriela Ezcurra to experience life at our Relais & Chateaux lodge in the Atlantic Rainforest.
Rio de Janeiro based Gabriela studied painting and sculpture at the Prilidiano Pueyrredón National School of Fine Arts in Buenos Aires.
Her work is joyful and energetic, a product of a colourful life and imaginative mind.
Artist immersion at Awasi Iguazu – Relais & Châteaux. Photograph by Claudia Vergara Paez
Influenced by the traveling painters of past centuries, Gabriela has exhibited in museums, galleries and public spaces across Europe, North, Central and South America.
Her peripatetic existence, with frequent relocations between the jungles of Mexico, New York and Buenos Aires, meant that for some years she focussed on painting, as she could set up and pack up with ease.
Gabriela painting in her villa at Awasi Iguazu, Argentina. Photograph by Claudia Vergara Paez.
However, as she began travelling less, she found herself drawn back to three dimensions and sculpture and currently she is working largely with ceramics, employing vibrant colors and glazes.
Gabriela, who was born in Buenos Aires with a curious mind and adventurous spirit, has always been fascinated by nature.
As a child, she was a frequent visitor to Córdoba, which she recalls being home to “many animals in the mountains, colorful frogs, wildcats, mountain goats… but over the years, they began to disappear”.
Gabriela felt inspired and compelled to capture these vanishing plants, animals and landscapes in her paintings.
Awasi Iguazú lends itself perfectly to an artist as passionate about the natural world as Gabriela.
She was struck from an early age by the “wild and indomitable jungle” with “its exuberance, its seemingly untamed vastness”.
A highlight during Gabriela’s stay, was a visit to the Jesuit Missionary Ruins. Photo: Claudia Vergara Paez
Immersed in the rainforest close to the Iguazú Falls, the Awasi lodge is surrounded by natural beauty and biodiversity.
The Iguazu Falls captured by Gabriela Ezcurra during her stay at Awasi
Offering untouched rainforest, diverse wildlife, secret waterfalls and scenic views, there are few other destinations more appropriate for complete immersion in nature.
Gabriela explains: “I had been to Iguazú before, but this time the waterfalls had a powerful flow. I encountered the Palo Rosa in the Yryapú Guarani Reserve, wonderful giants with very tall canopies. Perhaps the most inspiring were the walks on foot, where you can see everything in detail, how life sprouts from decomposing trunks and mushrooms emerge like magical beings”.
Gabriela’s exploration of the rainforest guided her to the “ñaú” mud from the Misiones riverbank.
She was struck by its potential, its texture and elasticity, “with so much personality that it dictated what piece I wanted to create”.
During her stay at Awasi Iguazú, Gabriela worked closely with local ceramacist Inés Fertl, uncovering a variety of techniques working with the ñaú mud, crafting an installation for the main lodge entitled “Suelo Vivo”/ “Living Soil”, designed to represent the soil full of life that covers the rainforest floor.
Working alongside Awasi guides Satur and Pica (each room at Awasi comes with a private guide), and photographer Claudia, Gabriela found herself deeply moved and inspired by the rainforest.
“I also rekindled my relationship with watercolors, the ideal medium for a traveler due to its portable size and quick drying”.
Gabriel immersed in her painting during her artist in residence programme at Awasi Iguazu. Photographs by Claudia Vergara Paez
Following her stay, she painted a watercolour of a toucan, which now sits proudly outside the vast cages of the Brazilian Bird Sanctuary.
The toucan that inspired Gabriela’s painting. Photograph by Claudia Vergara Paez.
Awasi Iguazú – Relais & Chateaux – is a boutique retreat comprising 14 private villas, each with its own terrace and plunge pool with uninterrupted views across the rainforest canopy.
The secluded villas are built on stilts. At Awasi, all guests are assigned their own private guide and vehicle, allowing for a fully bespoke, immersive experience.
Photograph by Claudia Vergara Paez.