Gabriel R. Asoka

Gabriel Asoka is an (American) artist & filmmaker. In 2007 he directed and produced his feature film debut with the film Beautiful Daydreams. The film went on to screen at a number of film festivals, including the New Beijing International Film Festival and The Big Gig Festival. He began his professional film career in 1989, working as an extra on the John Waters film Cry-Baby. Over the next two decades, he went on to work on various Hollywood motion pictures including Mars Attacks, Million Dollar Baby, Flags of Our Fathers, and Live Free or Die Hard. In 2003, He started writing and directing short films and completed over 12 shorts, many of which play in film festivals in the US and overseas. Notable short films include B-Girls, Prelude, and Contemplation. Asoka's artwork has been featured in art exhibitions throughout the world. His first solo exhibition was in the spring of 2002 at the Don O'Melveny Art Gallery in Beverly Hills, California. In the fall of 2001, several of his paintings were auctioned off at Bonhams & Butterfields auction house in Los Angeles. In 2012, Asoka started placing temporal public art installations called "Happiness Here" throughout New York City. Since, millions of people from around the world have come in contact with this interactive and thought provoking art, often creating a conversation about the very idea of happiness. In 2013 and 2014 the artist took "Happiness Here" global, placing installations in Los Angeles, Jersey City, Baltimore, Chicago and Paris, France. People's interactions are as varied as the work's appearance, doing everything from standing in the work, to taking photographs, reading, dancing or even laying in the space. To date over 200 Happiness Here installations have been placed throughout the world, 180 in New York City alone, creating a maze through the city. The public art series has been featured by several news media including, Oprah, The Huffington Post, American Public Media and NPR among others. His inquiry offers us a moment to explore our very perception and expectation of social interaction and art's role in daily life. Since, Asoka's artworks have been included in many private art collections.