Oriana Gerez Traded Physics for Art and Never Looked Back

Before opening a gallery in Miami’s Wynwood Arts District, exhibiting artwork internationally, and creating pieces collected by names like Tony Hawk, Oriana Gerez was studying something very different: physics.

While science and art are often viewed as opposite disciplines, Gerez believes they have far more in common than people realize. In many ways, the same curiosity that drew her toward physics continues to shape every painting she creates today.

“Studying physics changed the way I understand the world long before it changed the way I painted,” Gerez says. “Physics teaches you to ask how and why things work. That same curiosity naturally carried over into my artwork.”

Rather than simply learning how to paint, Gerez became fascinated by everything that makes a painting work, including composition, balance, light, texture, color relationships, and structure. That analytical mindset also taught her not to fear failure.

“In science, experiments don’t always work the first time,” she explains. “You test ideas, learn from the results, and keep improving. I approach my studio the same way. Every new material or technique is an opportunity to experiment.”

Eventually, however, another realization became impossible to ignore.

Although physics challenged her intellectually, art became the place where hours disappeared without notice.

“I found myself thinking about paintings while I was in class or working in the lab,” she says. “At some point I had to be honest with myself about where I truly wanted my career to go.”

Making that decision was anything but easy.

The transition meant traveling across the country to art festivals, spending countless hours creating new work, learning marketing and sales, building a business from the ground up, and accepting that success would never be guaranteed.

Looking back, Gerez says leaving physics was not the biggest risk.

“The biggest leap was betting on myself,” she says. “There are always moments of uncertainty, but every year I’m more convinced it was the right decision.”

Today, Gerez operates her own gallery in Miami’s internationally recognized Wynwood Arts District, where she continues creating artwork known for blending surrealism, symbolism, pop culture, and imaginative storytelling into a style that has become immediately recognizable to collectors around the world.

Despite her success, Gerez believes many people misunderstand what it takes to build a creative career.

“I think people romanticize becoming a full-time artist,” she says. “The reality is that creativity is only part of the job. If you want to make a living doing what you love, you also have to become an entrepreneur.”

That means learning business, branding, customer service, finances, and marketing while continuing to improve as an artist.

Her advice for anyone considering a similar leap is straightforward.

“You’ll probably never feel completely ready,” she says. “Don’t let fear make the decision for you. Start building the life you want, keep showing up every day, and trust that experience will make the fear quieter over time.”

For Gerez, the journey from physics student to professional artist has never been about abandoning one passion for another. Instead, it has been about applying the same curiosity that once explored the laws of nature to creating artwork that encourages people to see the world through a different lens.