Ricardo Gonzalez
Location: St. James Farm Forest Preserve
GPS Coordinates: 41.8350443, -88.1668483
Hometown: Chicago, Illinois
Sponsored by: National Musuem of Mexican Art
Ricardo Gonzalez is Mexican American artist from the Midwest. Raised in Blue Island, Illinois, a working-class community close to the suburbs and close to the city of Chicago, Gonzalez was drawn to artwork naturally out of curiosity and a fascination of comic books, cartoons, and pop-art. Topics that are explored within his artwork include Mexican American culture, celebration, popular iconography, and wonder.
Gonzalez attended the American Academy of Art on partial scholarship and received a BFA in Illustration in 2005. Soon after he dedicated himself to teaching painting and cartooning as a part-time job from 2005 - 2008 at Beverly Arts Center. Eventually Gonzalez dedicated himself to being a teaching artist as well as a full-time practicing artist creating murals and exhibitions. This practice led to a full ride fellowship at Kendall College of Art and Design where he completed an MFA in painting in the spring of 2016.
After several years of painting, murals, and instruction, Gonzalez went back to a childhood curiosity of drawing comics. In 2018 Gonzalez shifted focus on creating a fictional series titled "LA CHAMBA: Street Vendors Comic Book". Since then, he has been teaching comic art, creating illustrations, as well as making a new body of work. The materials Gonzalez uses range from acrylic paint, paper, pen, pencil, canvas and occasionally piñatas. The body of his work reflects identity, honor, humor, and celebration of his ethnicity.
Title of Work: Midwest Mexican American Arte
Description of Work: This painting features serape design, commercial advertising signage, cosmos, and nopal. This is a slightly more fragmented look at these cultural images that connect with Mexican American culture. This artwork represents homage, honor, wonder, and curiosity. The serape shows a textural and threaded history, the supermarket sign displays a contemporary Midwestern commercial aesthetic. The painting sky/space symbolizes a connection to the sky realm or the cosmos. The nopal is a representation of plant life and cultura.
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Timeline of Events
Artists in Mexico have begun painting and 15 national artists will arrive in May of 2024 to paint 15 heads here in DuPage County on-site at the McAninch Arts Center at College of DuPage. This exciting international exhibition has already begun and will be completed in June of 2024.
Get Involved!
Artists can only participate by way of a sponsorship. Local, state and private institutions in the US or Mexico are invited to join in this unique opportunity to showcase modern-day murals reflecting Mexican American culture and regional interpretational art. We are confident that by participating in this project as a sponsor, you will be fulfilling the mission of your organization. Sponsors will be a part of a once in a lifetime opportunity to collaborate with multiple entities and organizations around North America, which can bring more awareness and support to your organization’s efforts. We are working together for one cultural, artistic, and educational purpose that will bring so many people together in a very unique way. Additionally, you will be supporting one of your local artists taking part in a major career opportunity that promises unique experiences, enhancement of their artistic skills, and a chance to display their talents on a monumental canvas. What an amazing opportunity!