Charlie James Gallery is delighted to present Here, For a Moment, the fourth solo exhibition with the gallery by Los Angeles-based artist Ramiro Gomez, opening Saturday, November 16th and running through January 4, 2020.
In this forthcoming show Gomez is responding as always to his lived environment, but also to the tenor of the times and the weight of contemporary American disharmony. Processing recent years of deteriorating political climate, witnessing purges of working people based on immigration status, and experiencing episodes of personal loss have combined to yield a body of work grounded in ephemerality, which manifests in the show’s chosen narratives and use of materials. Gomez continues to use his photography practice as source images for his paintings, capturing scenes of working life in and around Los Angeles. Inspired as always by service workers, laborers, and discarded materials from the streets of LA, Gomez works across a wide range of media from cardboard to distressed canvas, trash bags, garden hose, found tarps and immersive mixed media installation. The show is an homage to the people who keep working amidst the increasing pressures of contemporary American life, though not explicitly an act of veneration. The show seeks to inhabit the lives of its subjects, particularly their moments of respite, reflection, and fantasy.