Jose Ramirez’s latest work for Avenue 50 Gallery is both a leap of faith and of vision for this veteran artist. Ramirez has long been known as a painter in the naïve style, with the continued use of a primary pallet for many years. Yet his works have always had social and political context that lie just below the surface of all those innocent faces. Two works in this exhibition are true to that genre.

But it is his new works that are at once monumental and evocative of a change in style. Heaven n Hell and Mapa del Jardin can be called expressionist. Ramirez has used the same composition as in his previous works but has left images unfinished in a way that suggests suffering, death and even decomposition. Heaven n Hell is especially haunting. Using red to the point of complete saturation, Ramirez has called to mind global warming, bloody revolution or hell—take your pick. In his earlier work, Ramirez would have continued to paint until those familiar colors distinguished the people and the scenery. Here, Ramirez forces the viewer to take a closer look. By painting less, he has achieved more. The various stages of completion suggest the various stages of life as it is lived by those subjected to oppression, famine, war, violence and all their permutations.

While some might think the piece is more about hell than heaven, this would be a misreading. The key is found in Mapa del Jardin where the same vegetation found in the background of Heaven n Hell is now in the foreground. The viewer is invited to navigate through the lush vegetation of Ramirez’s Eden garden to experience the other side of humanity, where, once past the suffering, heaven is just a step away. Our task is to find our way through to the city on the hill. The path is there but we can’t see it unless we deal with that suffering humanity that faces us.

These works are a natural progression for an artist deeply committed to his art and to his long-held beliefs. It is important for the viewer to come along on this adventure. We too must grow out of our comfort zones; we too must confront our demons if we are to experience the lush garden of artistic satisfaction.

-Armando Durón