Born in the Dominican Republic and based in Perth Amboy, New Jersey, self-taught artist Bony Ramirez fashions entrancing, dramatic works that celebrate his rich Caribbean culture and reflect on his native country’s traumatic history.
On view through Sunday at Thierry Goldberg Gallery on Manhattan’s Lower East Side is MUSA X PARADISIACA, Bony Ramirez’s first in-person solo exhibition with the gallery.
The bold, mesmerizing image featured above — Es Colmado, No Bodega — typifies that artist’s distinct aesthetic of fusing paintings and drawings by adhering life-size paper figures onto painted wood panels. And, as in all of of his works, the character’s limbs are distorted.
Several more images from this riveting exhibition follow:
“El Tiguerazo!,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, oil stick, paper on wood panel
“Carnaval,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, paper on wood panel
“Caribaby: The Sea Shells,” 2020, Apoxie clay, tin foil, Styrofoam, resin doll eyes, aluminum armature, velvet fabric, polyester fiberfill, synthetic hair, polymer clay, acrylic, oil pastel, sea shells
Segment of installation on the gallery’s lower level — (L to R) “Dónde Están Los Limóncillos?,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil stick, oil pastel, paper on wood panel; “The Columbus Lighthouse,” 2020, Apoxie clay, tin foil, Syrofoam, resin doll eyes, aluminum armature, crushed velvet fabric, polyester fiberfill, synthetic hair, acrylic, oil pastel; metal sword, zinc tow chain, acrylic, on wood panel and “No Fue El Final/ It Was Not The End,” 2020
acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, wallpaper, paper on wood panel
“Musa X Paradisiaca,” 2020, Acrylic, colored pencil, oil pastel, wallpaper, paper on wood panel
Located at 109 Norfolk Street, Thierry Goldberg Gallery is open Wednesday to Sunday, 10-6pm. Walk-ins are welcome.
Photos of images: Lois Stavsky
