New Works on Paper
September 5th - October 17th 2009
Fruit Seller, 2009, oil on paper, 8.75 x 9 inches
In this exhibition comprising of small-scale oil paintings on paper, Ramirez investigates structure and color, how objects relate to one another, and how they fit into the landscape. Her paintings and other works address tradition - the tradition of painting and drawing.
Ramirez often deals with subject matter that is focused around life in the Central Valley where she grew up. In this series, she translates her emotional responses to the wasted spaces of this place, and the sadness she feels every time she drives through there. The rusting hulks of forgotten industries both fascinate her and ground her to her small town roots.
Ramirez holds an MFA from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She has been living and working in Oakland, California for close to two decades, and has exhibited work in a few major bay area exhibitions such as "Chicano Encounters: Local Places and Global Communities" at San Francisco's de Young Museum; Solo Mujeres at Mission Cultural Center, San Francisco; and her solo exhibition "Bypasses and Intersections: Scenes from the Other California" at the San Leandro Museum. In 2007 she was the recipient of the George Sugarman Foundation Grant , and in 2008 she was awarded a commission by the Alameda County arts commission to create new works for the public collection, and has numerous works in bay area collections, including Kaiser Permanente, Public Policy Institute of California, Keever Vinyards, and the Stonehouse Center for Contemporary arts, where she was an artist in residence in 2008. This is Michele Ramirez' second solo show at Rowan Morrison Gallery.
Aritst's website: www.micheleramirez.com