Carlos Ramirez STORIES FROM MY WALKS
Gardner Colby Gallery will be hosting a one man show featuring the work of Carlos Ramirez
Opening Wednesday - January 17th, 2024 - 5-7 pm
Carlos Ramirez - Artist Statement
My work relates to nature as I see and experience it daily. Going for a hike in the mountains or simply working in my garden, I find myself swept up by the world around me, losing myself in its beauty. It is that moment, that feeling, that I am trying to capture. My paintings are not an attempt to replicate the places I have been to - but rather an homage to the memory of those moments, capturing their essence in color and movement. This feeling of total immersion; of being suspended in time and space is what brings me to the canvas.
The Lotus Pond (60x55”)
On canvas, the resemblance to nature is further echoed in the looseness of the paint application. The use of opaque and translucent layers create varying degrees of solidity and airiness that move the eye both forward and back within the painting. The layering and blending of the paint, mixed with the bold contrasts of tones, mimics the disarray and chaos seen in the natural world. Using twigs dipped in ink for the line drawings further encourages chance and spontaneity, while a sense of structure is created by horizontal and vertical elements. This play on the delicate balance between chaos and order is a central theme that runs deeply through all of my work.
Lazy Day by the Pool (54x54”)
“The beauty of venturing out on foot with no particular agenda. The rhythmic meditative cadence sets a pace for appreciating the simple pleasures that nature offers. Those images and colors the serendipitously appear before me and stop me in my path, forcing me to look not just see. Visual cues become snapshots that are lodged in the corners of the brain to be accessed later by the subconscious. Venture out - beauty is everywhere.” - Carlos Ramirez
“Yellow Morning Sky, a recent canvas, exemplifies Ramirez’s personal way of transmuting experience into color and imagery…. There is a kind of synesthesia at work here, as glimpses of the natural world move toward abstraction.” - John Seed
Yellow Morning Sky (54x79”)
“That feeling of losing yourself in your work… the confluence of brain, heart and hand.” - Carlos Ramirez
Stay tuned for more GCG Shows and Featured Artists!