Ramón Rodríguez Crespo

Biography

Ramón was born and raised deep in the Bolivian Andes. His youth was spent farming, tending animals and developing a profound reverence for nature and Bolivian culture. At age 15 he went to boarding school and continued on to seminary. Shortly after seminary he attended Raul G. Prada Fine Arts School in Cochabamba, Bolivia and graduated with a major in Sculpture.

His first year after art school, he won the national grand prize for his sculpture "Christos Rotos" and continued to garner national awards for painting, sculpture and watercolor. Ramón was selected to be the first Artist in Residence at the American Embassy in La Paz, Bolivia. His work is held in museum collections in Bolivia and has had solo and group shows in galleries throughout Bolivia.

In the U.S. he has paintings and sculpture in the Museum of Latin American Art (MoLAA) collection in Long Beach, California. He has participated in numerous group shows at the museum. MoLAA is the largest museum in the U.S. dedicated to Latin American Art. He has participated in shows at the Long Beach Museum of Art.

Ramón has also shown his work at the Pasadena Museum of California Art, the Palos Verdes Art Center, San Diego Art Institute, Blue Rain Gallery in Taos and Santa Fe, PezGordo Gallery in Cabo San Lucas. He has had solo shows at Viento y Agua Gallery, Gallery 33, 2nd City Council Gallery and Gallery AD+D in Long Beach. His work has been featured in Long Beach Magazine, Destinations Magazine, the Los Angeles Times, and a piece appeared in Arte al Dia: International Art Magazine. He has been awarded two Professional Artist Fellowships by the Arts Council for Long Beach.

In 2012 the Los Angeles Arboretum invited 100 artists to participate in a show with work made from the trees that were destroyed or damaged during the windstorm of 2011. Ramón participated in the show that garnered worldwide attention and awards.

Ramón was commissioned by the Cesar Chavez Foundation, KaBoom! and Maria Shriver to create a mural celebrating the life of Cesar Chavez. He designed and painted it with Maria Shriver, Los Angeles Mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa, and the Chavez family. The mural was replicated in 30 additional sites throughout California. Ramón has donated over $100k of his work in the last decade for fundraising purposes to causes and organizations he supports.

Ramón lives in Long Beach, California with his wife and two sons. He plays folk music on traditional Bolivian folkloric instruments. The family has played at California State University, the Los Angeles Arboretum, the Museum of Latin American Art, Peace Corps cultural celebrations, and numerous schools, churches and nonprofit organizations. Ramón is actively involved in his community sharing his talent, art, music and culture.

Artist Statement

I have a profound desire to understand and explore the nature of duality. I was born in a tiny isolated village in Cochabamba, Bolivia. I have had the unique experience of growing up in one of the poorest countries in Latin America and living in one of the wealthiest in the world for the last thirteen years. My last decade in Long Beach, California has been a sharp contrast to my life in the countryside of Bolivia. I have always been interested in dualities and this contrast of cultures has only expanded my interest.

Love and hate. Good and bad. Light and dark. Abundance and scarcity. Suffering and pleasure. Spiritual and material. Philosophical and theological. These perpetual dualities and struggles coexist within each of us. In my journey as an artist, I attempt to harmonize these dualities, to create a dialog between extremes.

In the process of exploring duality, I also try to capture the magic and beauty of the culture of my ancestors, the Incas. Through my work, I not only express that which compels me, I nourish myself with the energy of the landscapes, the power of the culture, the wisdom and determination of my ancestors.

I remember as a 3 year old, gathering stones of different colors and drawing on rocks or adobe walls. I drew in the sand at the river's edge with a stick. I arranged twigs, leaves, and other curiosities I found on my long walks through the countryside. I climbed luscious trees and cliffs of red and orange hues observing the divine art of Pacha Mama, Mother Earth. I could not resist. My childhood was spent climbing trees, collecting stones, and being shaped by the beauty of the Bolivian landscape.

As a teenager I attended pre-seminary and went on to seminary, however, I discovered that my true calling to divinity was not through priesthood but rather, through art. I continued making art. This is not an easy path in Bolivia. A common response to my being an artist was, "Lo siento," "I'm sorry." This has not deterred me. Creating for me is as necessary as breathing….perhaps even more important.

Inhaling the aroma of cedar and mahogany stretchers in my workshop reminds me of my life in the campo, the countryside. The germination of an idea takes place as I prepare my canvas. It is my ritual. I need to know the canvas, I let the idea evolve as I create the space where it transforms itself into existence.

I prepare the canvas with a layer of earth tone paint. Although this base coat is rarely seen it is the foundation for all the other hues which will reveal themselves in the layers of ideas, colors, and emotions. Only when the canvas is ready do I, with my palette knife, begin to breathe life into a painting.

I am compelled to share my culture and my work with others. I feel the responsibility to contribute to my community in positive ways. I am passionate about sharing creativity, and especially, helping others develop and realize their own infinite creative capacity. I have worked with children, differently abled people, the elderly, and many other diverse groups. For having received the gift of creativity, I must share it. Creating is, after all, living.

Over the years, I have given numerous presentations and hosted many groups in my studio to share my work and how I do it. This fuels my creativity. Collaboration is like mixing colors, you create another hue, another dimension, another experience, another dream.

I yearn for my dreams to be realized through the scraping of my palette knife across my canvas, through the striking of my chisel upon the stone, through the notes of the ancient instruments I play, and through the words of Quechua, the ancient language I speak.

C.V. / Resumé

location

Long Beach, California

education

1993 B.A. Fine Arts, major in sculpture, minor in painting, Raul G. Prada Escuela Superior de Artes Plásticas, Cochabamba, Bolivia

exhibitions

2022 Music Teachers Association of California Annual Convention, performed Bolivian folk music with educational component. Anaheim, CA, Solo Exhibition
2021 Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach Alternative Gallery Space, "Madre Tierra/Mother Earth". Long Beach, CA, Solo Exhibition
2019 Cultural Alliance Long Beach, "Life of Trees", Long Beach, CA, Solo Exhibition
2015 Long Beach Open Studio Tour, Annual studio tour participation, Group Exhibition
2014 Croatian Cultural Center of Greater Los Angeles, Artist in Residence Show, San Pedro, CA, Solo Exhibition
2014 Cultural Alliance Long Beach, Long Beach, CA, Solo Exhibition
2011 Long Beach Museum of Art, Auction, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2011 Long Beach Museum of Art, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2010 Bowers Museum of Cultural Arts, Santa Ana, CA, Group Exhibition
2010 2nd City Council Art Gallery, Long Beach, CA, Solo Exhibition
2007 Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2006 Museum of Latin American Art, Sculpture Garden Exhibit, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2006 Museum of Latin American Art, Juried Competition, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2006 Pez Gordo Gallery, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, Group Exhibition
2006 Blue Rain Gallery, Santa Fe, New Mexico, Group Exhibition
2006 San Diego Art Institute, San Diego, CA, Group Exhibition
2005 Museum of Latin American Art, Long Beach, CA, Solo Exhibition
2005 Palos Verdes Art Center, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA, Solo Exhibition
2004 Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2004 Museum of Latin American Art Docents, Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition
2003 Pasadena Museum of California Art, Pasadena, CA, Group Exhibition
2003 Museum of Latin American Art. Long Beach, CA, Group Exhibition

awards & residencies

2021 Social Justice Annual Award; Unitarian Universalist Church of Long Beach — recognition for environmental justice work through art, culture, agriculture, and community building
2017 Professional Artist Fellowship, Arts Council for Long Beach
2014 Certificate of Congressional Recognition for Outstanding Art Exhibition, State of California
2005 Professional Artist Fellowship, Public Corporation for the Arts. Long Beach, CA
2002 Artist in Residence, American Embassy. La Paz, Bolivia
2001 National Third Prize in Watercolor, Municipal Fine Arts Gallery La Casona. Cochabamba, Bolivia
2000 National Honorable Mention in Watercolor, Municipal Gallery Gildaro Antezana. Cochabamba, Bolivia
1999 National First Prize in Painting, Municipal Gallery Gildaro Antezana. Cochabamba, Bolivia
1997 National First Prize in Sculpture, Municipal Gallery Gildaro Antezana. Cochabamba, Bolivia
1996 National Honorable Mention in Sculpture, National Gallery de Pedro Domingo Murrillo. La Paz, Bolivia
1996 National Honorable Mention in Sculpture, Municipal Gallery Gildaro Antezana. Cochabamba, Bolivia
1994 National Grand Prize in Sculpture, Municipal Gallery Gildaro Antezana. Cochabamba, Bolivia

collections

City of Los Angeles Permanent Art Collection — painting presented to Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, honoring his service to Los Angeles and underserved youth (2006), Los Angeles, CA
Commissioned by Maria Shriver and KaBoom! — mural honoring Cesar Chavez, replicated in 30 locations across California (2008), Los Angeles, CA
Museum of Latin American Auction Catalog — featured watercolors, Long Beach, CA
Pez Gordo Gallery, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
Municipal Gallery Gildaro Antezana, Cochabamba, Bolivia

press

2015 Feature Article, Palacio Magazine
2013 Feature Article, LBPost.com
2012 Feature Article, Los Angeles Arboretum and Botanic Garden Magazine (Summer/Fall)
2011 Feature Article, LBPost.com
2006 Feature Article, Gallery News
2006 Feature Article, Long Beach Magazine
2003 Feature Article, Long Beach Press-Telegram, El Económico
2003 Work appeared in promotional ad for Museum of Latin American Art, Arte Al Día International Latin American Fine Art Magazine (Feb/Mar)
2003 Numerous citations in Bolivian national newspaper (1995–2003), Los Tiempos

publications

2010 Natures Cloak: Pure and Mysterious, , Self-published

teaching

2015–2015 Patrick Henry K-8 School, Long Beach Unified School District, CA , Muralist — Mural designed and painted with students (May–June 2015)

Ramón Rodríguez CrespoRamón Rodríguez Crespo