Today we’d like to introduce you to Sandra Ramos.
Hi Sandra, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
My name is Sandra Ramos, I am a professional multimedia visual Artist, who was born in Havana, Cuba in October 1969. At the age of 12, I start to study fine arts at the Elementary Art School in Havana, continuing my studies in printmaking for several years at San Alejandro Academy. In 1993, I licentiate from ISA the Higher Institute of Arts of Cuba, where I was teaching for several years after my graduation. I also completed an MFA at San Francisco Art Institute in 2021.
Since 1993, I am developing my artistic language and showing my projects in Museums and galleries around the world. I was exhibiting for many years at Nina Menocal Gallery in Mexico City, Promo Arte Gallery in Tokyo, PANAMERICAN Art Projects in Miami, and Accola Griefen Gallery in NY. My work has been collected by prestigious Museums such as MOMA NY, MFA Boston, The San Diego Museum of Art, PAMM Miami, Harvard Museums, National Museum of Fine Arts in Havana, The Bronx Museum, ASU Museum; The Ludwig Forum Aachen; TBA21 Vienna, Fuchu Art Museum in Tokyo. In 2013, I was invited to the Venice Biennial where I show my Installation piece 50 Miles which is part of a series of lighting bridges spectators can walk on. They are made from photos tucked from an airplane of migratory routes such as the Florida Stretch or the Mediterranean Sea.
I move to the US in 2013, with my then 12 years old daughter, where established in Sunny Isles Beach. My Art Studio is located at The Bakehouse Art Complex in Wynwood, where I have the opportunity to be part of a thriving artistic community while continuing to develop my practice. Among my recent exhibitions are: El sueño que olvidé antes del alba. Pan American Art Projects, Miami, 2022; “Both sides Now” DORCLAS Harvard 2022 -2023. What We Leave Behind, Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art University of Oregon 2023; You Know Who You Are: Recent Acquisitions of Cuban Art from the Jorge M. Pérez Collection.El Espacio 23. Miami, 2022; On the Horizon: Contemporary Cuban Art from the Pérez Art Museum Miami, Frist Art Museum, Nashville, 2022 Invisible Exhibition. ART Yard. Frenchtown. NJ 2022; She Says. Virginia Museum of Contemporary Art MOCA. 2021; ILLUMINATE. Coral Gables Light Public Interventions. Miami, 2021.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
Even though I always felt very lucky, I encountered obstacles that are normal for anyone who migrates and is establishing in a new context. I was 44 years old when I moved to Miami and that was a challenge because I needed to rebuild my life, find new friends, and incorporated into a new artistic community. I required to learn English, learn to drive, and learn how to be productive and functioning in a big metropolis like the city of Miami.
But these obstacles help to make me stronger, more resilient, and better, I learn to overcome the challenges and find the way and the people that supported me on this new journey. I have been privileged to have a lot of help from my love partner Alejandro Avila and Miami’s longtime friends such as Kathryn Mikesell, Luis Palomo, Diane Camber, and Janet Batet among others.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
In my creative process, I use a multiplicity of techniques such as installation, video, painting, engraving, and drawing. My art is fundamentally figurative and narrative. I use a wide range of materials like sand, feathers, mirrors, chalk, and found objects such as suitcases, old documents, cellphones furniture among others trying to capture their particular meaning as part of a collective story.
My work is conceptually based on the recovery of social and individual memory, linked to Cuban- American experiences and subjects such as solitude, emigration, identity, and history. Communication is a main goal in my artistic practice, that’s why I make direct and simple use of visual resources, through images, materials, and content, that favor a participative approach. I’m very interested in connecting with the general public as well as with the artistic and intellectual context worldwide. My installations and paintings show the tense relationship between the private and public in contemporary life, highlighting the fragile line that divides idealism from reality and Utopia from Dystopia. I am expressing political disillusionment and polarization as symptoms of a difficult reality, marked by the rise of populism, totalitarianism, and division.
Through my work, I aim to set a thoughtful thread from the past to the future. A creative and critical trace to rethink humanity’s social history of successes and failures, hoping art will contribute to building a better, inclusive, eco-friendly, and functional future for all in our shared world.
Do you have any advice for those just starting out?
Persistence is one of the greatest virtues that an artist must have, be patient, and professional, and have clear convictions in relation to their skills and work contents. Being curious, trying to learn something new every day, being amazed, and experimenting as much as possible help us to have fun while creating and to learn to use contemporary media to our advantage.
Respect all artists and actively participate in events, go to exhibitions, workshops, conferences, etc., to find your place in the community. The most important thing is to try to be the best person possible, try to be happy and make others happy, enjoy culture in general, read, go to the theater, see a good movie and a concert are things that enrich our lives and work.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.sandraramosart.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sandraramosart/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sandraramosart/
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sandra-ramos-29778644/
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/sandraramosart
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCpHc5Hv1Mvv_5xDLl3y6GJA
Image Credits
Duke and @sandraramosart
