Abel Aguirre

A native of southern California, Abel Aguirre started his career as a self-taught artist, drawing inspiration from the barrio art and surf side aesthetics around San Diego. His art themes were based on the fantasy worlds of his favorite children’s shows like Gumby and Mr. Rogers’ Land of Make Believe, which inspired him to create his own brand of fantasy themed environments. His intention was to create a visual space that would serve as a respite from the every day world, a space full of funny, colorful characters that would rekindle his audience’s inner child. Abel lived as an underground artist throughout the 80s and 90s before enlisting in the US Navy in 1999. 

In 2019, Abel retired from 20 years of military service, settled in San Antonio, and enrolled as an art student at Our Lady of the Lake University. He quickly recognized the similarity of the San Antonio and San Diego culturas that he felt mirrored each other and based his senior capstone presentation and solo art exhibition at Our Lady of the Lake University on a compare and contrast of these two sister cities.

In 2024, Abel graduated from with a bachelors degree in Visual Arts and New Media.  Since then, he has participated in group and solo exhibitions, organized public art events, and continues his unique and colorful art style based on his brand of fantasy world.