Skip to content

In his work, Ricardo González blends abstract and figurative elements with temperamental gestures and imagery loaded with ambiguous narratives. His compositions reject linearity and homogeneity, opening themselves to multiple possibilities of Interpretation. His painting is visceral—an ongoing intensity—an intuitive act open to uncertainty, risk, and transformation. His exploration moves between the raw and the unexpected, embracing error and spontaneity as essential components of the pictorial process. A sharp, acidic humor runs through his work—not as a comedic device, but as a disruptive gesture that challenges the viewer to question reality and the notion of what is "worth painting." However, beyond a critique of the medium itself, his work also flirts with nihilism, examining the fragility of existence and the absence of absolute meaning. Through the repetition of visual elements, he dares us to find our own sense of meaning within a chaotic world.

Ricardo Gonzalez was born in Mexico City and lives and works in New York. He received an MFA from New York University, and his BFA at New England School of Art & Design, Boston, MA and Madrid, Spain. He has exhibited in numerous venues in New York, Boston, Miami, Berlin, Mexico, and Belgium. Recent exhibitions include Museo de Arte Contemporáneo y de las Culturas Oaxaqueñas, Mexico; Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro, Mexico; Daniela Elbahara Gallery, Mexico City; Galeria Alegria, Madrid; PEANA Projects, Monterrey, Mexico; and Left Field Gallery, San Luis Obispo, CA. He is a recipient of the Martin Wong Scholarship Award in Painting, and his work has been reviewed in the Wall Street Journal, Time Out New York, Galerie Magazine, Art F City, and Pas un Autre.

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

You Me Are the Same, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Loose Fate, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Ever Get the Feeling You’ve Been Cheated?, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

The Dust Blows Back, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Fuck Poetry Look at Your Hand Read It, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Zig Zag Wanderer, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Botherin’ That Thing, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Reason and Squalor, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Someday I’ll Be in the Clay, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Ojo (Blind Lemon), 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Jumped on an Alligator Thought It Was a Horse, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”

Charcoal on paper drawing by Ricardo Gonzalez

Fever Down To My Shoe, 2016

Charcoal on paper

14” x 11”