Gabriel’s interest in early American Industrial buildings stems in part from the influence these structures had on the Modernist Esthetics used in European architecture. Monumental silos, grain elevators, and factories stand in ruin. For Gabriel they represent, in a unique way, the utopic potential of Modernism. These paintings focus not only on a romantic re-evaluation of early modernist architecture but are also centered on a critical approach to painting. The work reinterprets each structure by placing them within a particular abstract environment which creates a feeling of suspension and obscurity. In this way these massive structures are opposed in a formal and textural space. This play between the two forces causes a tension in the painting which continues to be an in a formal and textural space. This play between the two forces causes a tension in the painting which continues to e an underlining component in Gabriel’s work.