Sunday, April 1, 2007

Martin Ramirez

Last week or so I saw a NewsHour piece on the artist Martin Ramirez, and have just turned up this current gallery show of his work. The examples are well worth clicking on to see the images whole. Without formal training, he created a sizeable body of work while living most of his life in a mental hospital. His drawings made with stubs of pencil, on scraps of paper, sometimes colored or collaged, large and small, I find quite beautiful. What is known of him is a poignant story.

2 comments:

  1. His drawings are intesting in that there is a central figure (focal point) surrounded by repeating patterns. Could this by symbolic of his being in an institution?

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  2. Well it could, but it could be a lot of other stuff too. I like the ones that look like the way each of us is surrounded by a labyrinthine world. Or every step on the path that is the great journey. But that's me.

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