BIO
CHARLIE RAMÍREZ
born 1977 (San Juan, P.R.)
Charlie Ramírez is a self-taught artist. He works with a variety of media such as painting, sculpture, and video. Born and raised on the Island of Puerto Rico, his love and knowledge of art developed through his upbringing. Growing up amongst his father’s private collection of Latin American Art, his parents taught him the importance of art as means of expression and its cultural significance. Ramírez’s earliest tendencies of expression though, were not through fine art, he found his niche in the sport of surfing. From the age of 24, the artist traveled the world while competing professionally as a surfer. His surfing career greatly influenced what would eventually lead to his artistic style, he was exposed to many cultures and cultivated an appreciation for the power of nature.
Ramírez’s painting is discernible due to his caking of layer upon layer of paint along with incorporating tissue paper and ink on his canvases. He also experiments with impulsively scraping said layers to reveal the colors underneath in pursuit of texture and form for his figures, reminiscent of Ernst's bold methods of frottage and grattage. Ramírez draws from automatism and constructs his artwork through an absence of conscious thought while creating chance textures. His cultural identity is present in his use of bright colors and peculiar combinations of pigments. Often painting flower landscapes, his somewhat aggressive and loose brushstrokes simultaneously communicate a sense of chaos and harmony.