MCAC’s 2015 Juror & Featured Poster Artist – RAMIRO GOMEZ

There is always a level of excitement that accompanies selecting Magic City Art Connection’s (MCAC) poster artist and festival juror. It is our pleasure to announce that California artist Ramiro Gomez has been selected for both of these 2015 featured positions. This honor is being presented by the Jennifer Harwell Commemorative Gift at the 32nd annual contemporary art festival on April 24-26 in downtown’s Linn Park.

In 2009, MCAC kicked off this new model for an artist/juror combo with board member and graphic design sponsor Scott Miller of Miller Communications. Scott has been an avid collector of living, contemporary artists for years. And his role as an influential art trip guide for the Birmingham Museum of Art’s Collectors Circle, has given him unique entry, position and tether to emerging artists, galleries, museums, industry connections, and more in the art world. As a result, so has Magic City Art Connection and Birmingham.  When hosting these talented artists locally, the festival’s visibility is also thrust onto a regional, national, and even international stage. Not to mention that the artists from all over the country exhibiting at MCAC also reap the benefits of rubbing elbows with these thriving artists who focus on their body of work and present awards that add acclaim and prestige for their craft.

How did we find Ramiro and his work, you may ask? It all started with Scott sharing his adventures at Expo Chicago at the Navy Pier, an international exposition of contemporary & modern art. There Scott discovered Ramiro’s work being showcased at the booth of the Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles. At first Scott presented Ramiro as a potential juror showing the committee a photo of the limited edition print he acquired, describing the subject matter and approach Ramiro used in illuminating his work. The committee was impressed and quickly moved to invite him to Birmingham under the dual capacity. Thankfully, he was available and his gallery said yes.

The featured work of art for the 2015 poster by Ramiro is an acrylic on canvas painting using David Hockney’s iconic 60s Southern California scenes as a jumping off point, interrupting the original compositions with the introduction of Latino domestic workers into the works. To learn more about Ramiro and see more of his work in the series, Domestic Scenes, click here.

Poster Design by Scott Miller of Miller Communications, Inc.