Fashion, Sports and Politics in Ramon Vega's Studio
In another collaboration with the very talented Kevin Burg and Jamie Beck, we went to visit the studio of Ramon Vega in the Navy Yard building in Brooklyn. For me, it was the second time there, and I always find something really cool in Ramon's studio. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in the States, Ramon loved sports and images since a very young age. It is then, not surprising, that he incorporates a lot of sports photography in his work.
Fascinated also with the fleeting quality of celebrity culture (who's famous today may not be tomorrow); fashion and politics, Ramon has developed his very own style: making use of old and new images found in magazines and newspapers and in some instances, using every-day materials like dark tape, Ramon transforms what his eyes perceive in interesting and thought-provoking light boxes, large c-prints or even sculptures made of ArtForum magazines whose covers have been blanked and turned into something else.
A graduate from the Rhode Island School of Design, Ramon's conceptual pieces don't forfeit beauty and quality: he tells me many times that he is very interested in having a final product that is beautiful and obviously he has accomplished that and more. I'm particularly drawn to a large photograph that shows multiple images of a seemingly elastic Isabeli Fontana, whose arms and legs are interlocked forming a perfect square. The details are amazing and I was so obsessed with this piece that Ramon printed a small version for my collection -which I absolutely love.
Ramon's work has been exhibited in multiple shows and galleries nationally and internationally including The Hole Gallery, Allegra LaViola Gallery, the American University Museum in Washington DC, the Asia Song Society in New York; and the Pont Aven School of Contemporary Art in France. I can see Ramon's work in a very strong collection, perhaps surrounded by a combination of contemporary and mid-century furniture pieces. But that is not for me to decide right now, since I know that anyone who meets Ramon will be hooked by his charm and his amazing art.