Gabrielle Pescador became an artist on the Day of the Dead. A linguist by training, the installation for the Day of the Dead that she created in collaboration with the her husband Juan Javier Pescador for Michigan State University Museum sparked her interest in a new career. Since their debut in 2007, these multifaceted altars have been shown annually and have also been exhibited in 2009 and 2010 at the National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago).
Pescador had some early success with her paintings, sculptures and installations, but felt the need for a more complete grounding in art history and contemporary art practices. She chose the 1-year post-graduate program at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago because she wanted “the experience of immersing myself in an art community and engaging in critical discourse”. This was her first art school experience.
In what may be an understatement, Pescador says she has found it “stimulating…so much going on, so many different artists working in so many different ways.” And although she has found the intensity and pace of the program challenging at times, Pescador loved being connected to the Art Institute of Chicago and engaging with the Chicago art community. Her exposure to new ideas and ways of working has led her to become more productive as an artist.
She is currently working on a documentary with her husband Javier on the transgender community in Windsor, Ontario, collaborating on a book about shoe design with Prof. James Sommerfeldt of SAIC and planning on returning to school in the fall, this time as an MFA candidate in fiber at Cranbrook Academy of Art.
Women's Caucus for Art 
Marvelous work