Painter Ramiro Gomez adds labour to vision of luxury
Those hedges didn't trim themselves. Nanny-turned-artist Ramiro Gomez shares why he paints day labourers and domestic workers into manicured landscapes.
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Those hedges didn't trim themselves. Nanny-turned-artist Ramiro Gomez shares why he paints day labourers and domestic workers into manicured landscapes. (David Feldman/Ramiro Gomez)
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Q23:21Painter Ramiro Gomez adds labourers to vision of luxury
When Ramiro Gomez attends one of his gallery openings in Los Angeles, his eye wanders to people other attendees might not notice — like the janitors, security guards, and the gardeners outside trimming hedges.
The artist calls more attention to these very labourers. Although their work is vital, he notes that they are missing from the pages of luxury magazines and images of manicured landscapes.
Today he joins Shad to share how he went from nanny to painter, how his former employers reacted to his art, and why he still doesn't feel quite comfortable in the art gallery setting.
WEB EXTRA | See selected works by Gomez, posted with permission from the artist, below.
Estela and Dylan by Ramiro Gomez. Acrylic on magazine, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery.
Paramount Studios. Acrylic on canvas, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery. (Michael Underwood)
Balenciaga by Ramiro Gomez. acrylic on magazine, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery. (Michael Underwood)
Esperanza by Ramiro Gomez, acrylic on magazine, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery.
Portrait of a Pool Cleaner (after David Hockney's Portrait of Nick Wilder, 1966) by Ramiro Gomez. Acrylic on canvas. (underwoodpix.com)
