Gilbert Candelaria

Gilbert Candelaria-1

Gilbert is a self-taught artist based in Santa Fe, New Mexico. While best known for his creative nightlights created from a myriad of kitchen appliance and other objects, Gilbert’s recycled art is versatile and has expanded to include unique candelabra, wall hangings, and yard art.

Gilbert Candelaria-2

His inspiration for recycled nightlights dates to 1993. While living in Phoenix, he saw a modern art exhibit with a trashed toaster in a pile of junk with a broken light bulb inside the toaster. He kept thinking about this image, borrowed some tools, and before he knew it, his first art piece was born.  Since then, he has incorporated scrap steel, glass objects and lamp parts into his one of a kind pieces.

Artist statement:

Growing up in Texas, my mother always gave me the encouragement to be creative and my dad always had me painting trailers--lots of trailers. It’s funny how I always painted on various surfaces except canvas. It’s interesting to paint on textured surfaces or incorporate an idea based on the shape of the object. The constant challenge has made it a wonderful journey.

I look at the world around me for my color and theme inspiration. In addition, with an interest in steel and glass objects, I’ve been able to expand my creative ideas to these mediums. What is still amazing is what I still learn from each piece that I create. Always learning!