GROUNDS & ROOTS
An Exhibition of Paintings by Taylor Gray and Ramiro Santillan.
Exhibit Opens Saturday, April 09, 2022 with Artist Reception from 5 - 7 PM.
Exhibit Opens Saturday, April 09, 2022 with Artist Reception from 5 - 7 PM.
From The Artists:
Grounds & Roots is a collection of figurative works by Taylor Gray and Ramiro Santillan. The title of the exhibit references the physical grounds that act as a base layer for an artwork to come to fruition and the cultural and philosophical roots that support our creative rhetoric. Using the figure as a point of reference, we touch on topics of identity, politics, and culture to express our individual perspectives. The works show how we perceive ourselves, others and how others perceive us through acceptance, observation, and critique. By including sketches, we unearth the process that informs the development of our concepts. The variety of the works is meant to highlight the flexibility painting allows artists to explore in both style and content.
Please enjoy Grounds & Roots,
Taylor and Ramiro
Grounds & Roots is a collection of figurative works by Taylor Gray and Ramiro Santillan. The title of the exhibit references the physical grounds that act as a base layer for an artwork to come to fruition and the cultural and philosophical roots that support our creative rhetoric. Using the figure as a point of reference, we touch on topics of identity, politics, and culture to express our individual perspectives. The works show how we perceive ourselves, others and how others perceive us through acceptance, observation, and critique. By including sketches, we unearth the process that informs the development of our concepts. The variety of the works is meant to highlight the flexibility painting allows artists to explore in both style and content.
Please enjoy Grounds & Roots,
Taylor and Ramiro
Taylor Gray
Artist Statement
My work in "Grounds & Roots” depicts my internal contemplations of identity through a parallel between realism and abstraction. My femininity often presents itself in traditional ways, and, while confident in who I am, I often find myself in moments of reflection that allow me to grow into and cement myself even more. Who I present as and who I understand myself to be can be vastly different and separate, but my use of exaggerated line, pattern, and color in this work, regardless of style, diminishes the contrast between these ideas. This establishes my comfort with my self-identification and others’ perceptions of me despite their dissimilarities. |
Ramiro Santillan
Artist Statement
Where do I fit in? In a confusing world of likes, upvotes, new ideologies, debates, and opinions in flux, I often find myself enthralled and dumbfounded by the symbols around me. I ask how any sane person is supposed to navigate the speeding car on a race to nowhere that is our contemporary culture. Where is my place in the modern world as an artist and an observer? These are the questions that guide my body of work. I question the status quo. I do so by considering the subjective nature of human interaction from the internet, politics, history, relationships, and identity to inform my work. History and power have established a status quo on much of our common understandings through hierarchies of class, race, and gender. Painting and drawing allow me to address the social understandings of the figure by referencing art history and its hold on our visual iconography. The figure serves as a reflection of people around me in the thralls of the modern world. Through the lens of cultural critique and analysis I reflect on myself, others, and my place in the culture that surrounds me. As my culture changes, I expect my work to change, and I will always find new answers to the questions I have about my place in the world. |
