Art Convo with Bony Ramirez: The Artist's Gorgeous Intent Behind "Caribbean Luxury"
El Platanero, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.
An enthusiastic and engaging conversation with Dominican-born painter and sculptor Bony Ramirez (he/him). The Salcedo native and New Jersey-based artist reveals a new solo show at Thierry Goldberg opening November 7, and the unifying intent behind his aesthetic “Caribbean Luxury.”
How are you feeling at this moment?
At this moment I’m feeling excited and anxious at the same time! I’ve been working on my first official solo exhibition, it’s been an exciting journey, but it has been tiring too. I love what I do and I wouldn’t change it for anything. I’m very pleased with the work I’ve produced, it’ll be a celebration of the Caribbean, it’s beauty and its history!
How have you balanced self-care and your art practice during these quarantined months?
In my case, I feel like my art practice is my form of self-care. I really love drawing and painting or anything art-related, so whenever I’m in that headspace, I feel calm and in my element. Oddly enough, during quarantine was actually the first time when I actually was able to get a studio to work in. I was also able to dedicate to making art full-time, so that helped a lot on the mental health aspect.
“I like to refer to my aesthetic as ‘Caribbean Luxury’. When the figures are placed in interiors, I try to make them as luxurious as possible, without any Eurocentric appeal.”
The Plantain That Never Ripened, 2020. Courtesy of the artist.
I love your world. It's sensual, decadent, and your figures seem otherworldly with their amorphous limbs. Can you talk to me about the world you're sharing in your paintings?
I like to refer to my aesthetic as “Caribbean Luxury.” When the figures are placed in interiors, I try to make them as luxurious as possible, without any Eurocentric appeal. On the other hand, I really like to portray and represent the Caribbean landscape, so beaches and tropical foliage are a must. These things will be more evident in the new body of work I’m releasing this year.
A Physical Representation of A Broken Heart, 2019. Courtesy of the artist.
What do you say with your sculptures that you don't say in your paintings? And what do you like about that?
For my sculptures, they’re mainly children, unlike my paintings that are adult-looking figures. In the sculptures I really like to capture the innocence and playfulness of a child with a touch of seriousness. I really like the fact that you can tell that whoever made the paintings also made the sculptures! Also, I like making sculptures in general because I can play with different materials and take my work to the next level.
Portrait by Daniel Terna.
I know times are uncertain, but what's next for 2020?
I’ll be debuting a new body of work at my first New York solo exhibition at Thierry Goldberg Gallery. It’ll be a celebration of Caribbean life and traditions. I want to unite the Caribbean as a whole with this new body of work. Language has been something that has kept us from communicating our similarities throughout the islands, and this exhibition will be like a bridge for us to communicate through a visual language. The show is titled MUSA X PARADISIACA, it’s the scientific name of the Plátano. It also works because as the direct translation states, all the figures in the exhibition are muses of paradise!
