Daniel Gibson is a painter of the California landscape, a visualizer of a certain kind of desert oasis dreamt of in a surreal dream as opposed to a place you have been. But to be honest, I wasn't aware of this fantastical world of desert sun, flora and fauna in Gibson's work; I just wanted it all to be real. I don't think that is important; what is important is that Gibson is capturing an essence of fantasy and freedom, a rural and desert basins, the Imperial Valley of Southeast California.

This is where Daniel grew up, and though he has lived in San Diego and now Los Angeles for years, he takes this childhood daydream of his surroundings with him in some of the most beautifully phantasmagorical paintings being made today.

Gibson's path to a fine art career took many twists and turns, from ArtCenter to graphic design, street posters to working at Levi's. He found himself in the studio of Mary Weatherford, another artist of color bursts and abstractions, where he learned the details of a career artists and the blueprint for dedication. The pandemic allowed him more time in the studio, and when the world was shut away, Gibson developed a body of work that has seen the galleries of Almine Rech, Nazarian / Curcio and new show just about to open at Marquez Art Projects (MAP) in Miami.

In this conversation on The Unibrow's Radio Juxtapoz podcast, Gibson speaks to Juxtapoz editor Evan Pricco about a semi-retirement set for 2025 (aka, a break from shows to develop new work), growing up near the California-Mexico border, being self-taught at painting, the emotional parts of paintings and what he learned from Weatherford's practice.

The Unibrow's Radio Juxtapoz podcast is hosted by Juxtapoz editor, ⁠⁠⁠Evan Pricco⁠⁠⁠. Episode 157 was recorded in Los Angeles on March 11, 2025. This episode of Radio Juxtapoz is brought to you by the generous support of the Artemizia Foundation, a world class museum of contemporary, graffiti and street art in Bisbee, Arizona.