Emilio Rama is a visual artist born in Obregón, Sonora, Mexico in 1976. For the past 30 years, he has spent most of his time in Querétaro, an industrial city in central Mexico and only recently has divided his time between Queretaro and Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. His work is characterized by using elements and references of Pop Culture with a critical eye on consumption and banal entertainment.
His artistic training has been influenced by the teachings of important international artists of the region such as Gustavo Villegas, Ramses de la Cruz, Renato Gonzalez, Patrick Petterson and Rafael Rodríguez. Although he did not obtain a degree in visual arts, he has been attending workshops and received various diplomas. These tools have allowed him to create artistic works that have been exhibited in group and solo exhibitions inside and outside of Mexico.
Rama states “In my experience, growing up in a middle-class Mexican family in the 1980s, I developed, like many others from my generation, a taste for items imported from the United States, such as chocolates, sweets, fashion, music, movies, etc. This meant I became a consumer of the American pop culture that arrived in Mexico after the Free Trade Agreement was signed.
I learned about materialism and the emptiness that we try to fill by consuming objects of desire and comfort. That’s how I found the inspiration to express this feeling through art, which, even though it criticizes and attacks consumerism, it’s an inevitable part of my middle-class life.”
After his first solo show at the Museum of Queretaro, he was invited to exhibit his works in collective art shows and art festivals such SMART (San Miguel de Allende Art Festival) and BOARDRIPPER (Vans skateboarding and urban festival). He also participated in the first BIENAL SANTANGEL in the Art Museum of Querétaro and was awarded the APOYARTE 2013 (Secretary of Culture of Queretaro State Program). His inspiration include Pop Artists such Andy Warhol, Ron English, and Mel Ramos who work with Pop Culture subjects and icons.
The graphic composition of his paintings reflects the fragility of our environment by being presented as paper figures simulating nature objects. In this way he wants to convey a certain empathy with the environment and promote responsible consumption, understanding that each action he takes will have an impact in our fragile world. Rama adapted the Japanese folding paper art “Origami” as an instrument for speech; to succeed, you need to follow the steps one by one, without using scissors, glue or painting to represent objects and nature. You have to practice, be patient, have the honor to follow the steps, and not to cheat in the process, and look for perfection; that’s why he uses paper figures as an honorable and fragile object representing nature in opposition to the brands and characters that everybody loves.
