Islas / Islands.

The Artist

Ricardo Gonzalez.

US

Ricardo Gonzalez was born in Mexico City and currently resides in New York. Living in large multicultural and overly populated cities has sensibilized him about the energy of anxiety. His work has always focused on very specific aspects of human behavior within the context of urban life. Some of his earlier work consisted of large fiendish figures lurking around the canvas painted in a primitive and rudimentary approach. These shadow-like entities alluded to the mischievous demons of our collective unconscious much like the Oni in Japanese culture. Their grimacing smiles are the ones of the possessed early blues musicians or the fans at a high energy concert. His paintings have always been concerned with the act of painting and how this expressionist painting approach can reveal the human temperament and a visceral feeling. In its transparency we are shown the urge of a human to act out in his anxieties.