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DAN GABRIEL
American Abstract Painter • Active 1970s–1990s
Represented by Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York
Distributed through ART SPECTRUM, NYC
ARTIST OVERVIEW
Dan Gabriel is an American abstract painter whose work reflects the elegant, organic sensibilities of late 20th-century lyrical abstraction. Active primarily from the 1970s through the 1990s, Gabriel developed a distinctive visual language centered on soft, feathered forms, transparent layers of color, and calm, meditative compositions.
Gabriel’s works were represented and distributed by Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., a respected Upper East Side art gallery that supplied original contemporary works to New York’s thriving interior design world, corporate collections, and private collectors. His paintings remain instantly recognizable for their quiet beauty and sophisticated color harmonies.
Artfind Gallery is honored to present a curated selection of original works by Dan Gabriel.
ARTISTIC STYLE
Gabriel’s paintings are characterized by:
Layered oil glazes creating floating organic forms
Soft transitions and feathered edges, showing exceptional brush control
Muted, atmospheric palettes—lavender, rose, sage, mauve, eucalyptus, misted blue
Vertical unfolding compositions reminiscent of petals, plumes, or botanical structures
A serene, meditative tone, achieved through translucent color fields
Although fully abstract, Gabriel’s work feels deeply connected to nature—suggesting flowering, breathing, or drifting forms without depicting them literally.
His paintings are often described as:
“Organic abstraction”
“Lyrical color fields”
“Mid-century modern serenity”
“Botanical without being botanical”
BACKGROUND & TRAINING
While traditional academic details (birthplace, schooling, etc.) were not formally archived—normal for artists working in New York’s design-gallery ecosystem—Gabriel’s technique and professional associations place him within the broader lineage of:
Postwar American abstraction
The Washington Color School
Lyrical Abstraction (1965–1985)
Modern decorative art movements shaped by interior design culture
Artists developing work in this period often trained in:
American fine arts programs specializing in color theory
Commercial and studio arts that fed directly into NYC gallery networks
Independent modernist studios focusing on soft-edge abstraction
Gabriel’s work strongly reflects the influence of Frankenthaler, Jenkins, Sam Francis, and modern Scandinavian color sensibilities.
PROFESSIONAL PRACTICE
Dan Gabriel worked primarily in New York City, producing original oil-on-paper abstractions for:
Mitch Morse Gallery Inc.
ART SPECTRUM (Morse’s publishing and distribution division)
Corporate art programs
Interior designers and architects
Boutique galleries along the East Coast
His artwork was especially popular within:
Luxury residential interiors
Modern office lobbies
Healthcare and hospitality design
Private collections seeking calming, contemporary works
Gabriel’s collaboration with Mitch Morse—a gallery owner listed in Who’s Who in the East and a recognized lecturer and graphics expert—ensured national exposure for his work.
CREATIVE PROCESS
Gabriel’s technique reveals a slow, deliberate, and meditative working method:
Light underdrawing in graphite or pastel to establish movement
Initial color wash to define emotional temperature
Layered oil glazes, each semi-transparent
Feathering techniques using soft bristle and sable brushes
Organic emergence, letting shapes grow gradually
Refinement through repetition, exploring variations on a theme
The results are artworks that feel alive but quiet, structured but free, merging modernist geometry with natural movement.
LEGACY & COLLECTOR APPEAL
Gabriel’s artwork, though outside the academic museum system, has gained renewed attention from:
Collectors of mid-century and post-mid-century abstraction
Designers seeking organic modernism
Galleries specializing in 20th-century American art
Buyers looking for authentic works with a strong decorative presence and timeless calm
His paintings occupy a unique position: refined, meditative, beautifully crafted, and deeply compatible with modern interiors.
Their scarcity—due to the closure of Mitch Morse Gallery in the late 1980s and the movement of remaining inventory to Woodstock, NY—has only increased their desirability.
SELECTED PROVENANCE
Mitch Morse Gallery Inc., New York, NY
Art Spectrum, a division of Mitch Morse Gallery
National corporate and private collections (1970s–1990s)
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC (current representative for works pictured in this collection)
AVAILABLE WORKS
Artfind Gallery currently represents a curated group of original Dan Gabriel paintings, each authenticated through provenance from the Mitch Morse Gallery archives and signature analysis.
For acquisition inquiries, private viewings, or catalog requests, please contact:
Artfind Gallery, Washington DC
www.artfind.gallery
