María Ramos

María Ramos was born in Equatorial Guinea, Africa in 1967. The dictatorship that followed her birthplace’s Independence from colonial ruling in 1968 brought María´s family and herself to Spain in 1972.

At that time, Spain was new to other cultures and races since it was driving through a political transition in search of Democracy. Within this new context she learned their customs and traditions while Africa prevailed ever present at home. This “duality” exalted her human characteristic emphasizing her “difference” of being in Spain’s homogeneous society.

Across the Atlantic news of the “New World” kept arriving: Disco, Soul, Funk, Motown, Black Beauty, Brothers and Sisters boogying while exploiting their “Afros”. So, she crossed the Ocean.

In 1989, she discovered New York and its rich tapestry. She succumbed to its multiracial and creative force becoming part of its context during 8 years. From people to cuisine, to fashion, to style, to music, to spaces she indulged in its eclecticism in search of her own identity and creative path.

María continued training on her drawing skills by attending classes at the Art’s Student’s League and the New York Academy of Art to later enrol in the Advertising Design Program at the Fashion Institute of Technology. This added dimension to her work by providing her with the foundations and techniques of design.

María´s work is about Beauty.

BEAUTY: A universal language which understands No prejudice of colour, way, shape or form and only understands the urge of expressing herself by simply being IT.

Through this idiom she searches the concepts of origin, liberty, perception...to develop her own vision. Supported by the technique of “Collage” she fuses in her work many influences. These influences are a reflection of the complex world we are a part of, as much as the fruits of her personal story and experiences. Past and Future are always Present in María´s work. She personally feels it is important to REMEMBER the Past in order to IMAGINE the Future. Thus the African connotations in her work are symbols of her past. Her tribute to her ancestors. And the symbolic structures of New York City symbolize the transitions and evolution of her own story on the path to the Future. Her tribute to all that is possible.

Technique

The paintings are created through superimposing the technique of collage with a fusion of various techniques of arts, crafts and design. The elaboration of her collages includes the use of textiles (leather, beads, sequins, feathers etc), photorealism, bold colours and sensual drawings. Working from photographs and drawings María designs the composition of her images. Her use of colours and textiles emphasizes the optical effect of light and dimension while increasing the tactile value of texture and colour of her paintings. María Ramos relies on her graphic design training to apply different techniques, such as symmetry, perspective and cropping which are reflected through the convergence of the messages, rhythms, colours and textures that arise from the different ethnic influences of our world which are assimilated in her paintings.