Aurie Ramirez (Filipino, b. 1962)

Photo courtesy of Creative Growth

Very little of Ramírez’s life is known between her birth in the Philippines in 1962 and when she started working with Creative Growth, a well-known workshop and studio for artists with mental and developmental disabilities in Oakland, California, in the early 1980s. Never having mastered language, Ramírez is unable to speak about her past; instead she communicates her interests and desires through her paintings. Ramírez’s early works reflect her interest in popular Goth culture, especially the popular television show The Adams Family and the rock band Kiss. Her more recent work has evolved into a quasi-Victorian, Venetian masquerade, Glam Rock, suburban milieu populated by androgynous and masked dandies.

Two characters repeatedly appear in Ramírez’s works: a red, clock-faced dandy and a green, masked woman, both in pinstriped attire. Her work often references sexual desire, the consumption of food, familial ties, and fantastical creatures vibrantly illustrated in whimsical spaces and suburban settings. The recurring characters and scenarios make up a complex imaginary realm that allows Ramírez to express and confront her desires through her art.