Rafael Ramirez
New York, USA, 1952
Biography Details
Photographer. Ramírez studied at the Germain School of Commercial Photography and Queens College in New York, where he took as his inspiration photographer Herb Goro, a member of the Concerned Photographers Collective, whose members used photography as an instrument for bringing light to bear on social problems. Since the seventies, Ramírez has devoted himself to photography, both commercial and artistic. He has shown his work in several solo and group exhibitions since 1978, and the State of New York awarded him the CAPS prize in 1981. In 1983, he moved to Puerto Rico, and since then he has taken part in several editions of the Foto exhibition, organized by the Puerto Rican Council on Photography. His photographs, generally in black and white, contain urban images that seek to grant individuality to those who make up the landscape of the city, or deal with houses and views of the modern “urbanization,” or housing development, in Puerto Rico, with emphasis on elements made to transcend the ordinary through the manipulation of light.
Artist Statement
“Even in my most abstract images the viewer always knows where he is standing and what is it being shown. You are never so lost in abstractions that you can’t identify what you are looking at. And yet, if you study the image the abstraction will reveal itself to you. There is the challenge, to go beyond ordinary and see the art underneath.”
Rafael Ramírez,
Source: Biographical information from Rafael Ramírez
Formation
Education
1976-1977
- Specialization in black and white commercial photography. Germain School of Commercial Photography, New York, United States
1970-1975
- Major in History with a minor in Social Sciences and Photography. Queens College, Flushing, New York, United States
Professional Experience
1984-presente
- Freelance Photographer. San Juan, Puerto Rico
1981-1984
- Photo Lab Technician. Zoom Photographic, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1977-1985
- Conducted Workshops on Black and White Lab Techniques. Community Centers, New York, United States; Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, Metropolitan Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Freelance Assistance for Comercial Photographer. New York, United States
1975-1978
- Taxi Diver. New York, United States
Exhibitions
Solo Shows
1991
- En Foco Gallery, New York, United States
1981
- Zoom Photographic Gallery, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1980
- Casa Aboy, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Group Shows
1998
- Primera Bienal Internacional de Fotografía de Puerto Rico, Museo de Las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1994
- FotoFest, Houston, Texas, United States
- Foto 942, R-G Bank Plaza, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1992
- Foto 92, Museo del Grabado Latinoamericano, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1990
- Foto 90, Museo del Antiguo Arsenal de la Marina Española, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1985
- Nueva Fotografía Puertorriqueña, Museo de Historia, Antropología y Arte, Universidad de Puerto Rico, Río Piedras Campus, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1982
- Primera Muestra de Fotografía Puertorriqueña Contemporánea, Plaza Las Américas, San Juan, Puerto Rico
1981
- Autorretratos, Museo del Barrio, New York, United States
1980
- Vapors, The Cork Gallery, New York, United States
Awards, Distinctions and Achievements
1985
- First Prize. Jack Daniel’s Photography Contest, United States
1981
- Grant. Creative Artists for Public Service (CAPS), New York, United States
Collections
- Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico
Bibliography
Catalogues
“Contexto puertorriqueño: del rococó colonial al arte global”. Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 2007.
“Foto 90”. Museo del Arsenal de la Marina, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1990.
“Foto 92”. Museo del Grabado Latinoamericano, Instituto de Cultura Puertorriqueña, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1992.
“Foto 942”. R-G Bank Plaza, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1994.
“Vapors: An En Foco Exhibition”. The Cork Gallery, New York, United States, July 1980.
Newspapers
De Orduña, Carlos. “Puertorriqueños en el Fotofest”. El Nuevo Día (San Juan, PR), 20 de noviembre de 1994, pp. 10-11.
Pérez Ruiz, José A. “Una memorable bienal”. El Vocero, Escenario (San Juan, PR), 1 de noviembre de 1998, pp. E6-E7.