Ramiro Gomez’s Provocative Art Takes On Labor And Racism

By Eva Recinos

An L.A. artist portrays workers who often exist on the fringes of society.

Most discussions around the work of Ramiro Gomez focus on his figures. It’s these bodies in space — compositional space but also public space — that make an impact.

Their presence is at turns subtle and demanding, quiet and attention-grabbing.

The faceless figures that the Los Angeles-based artist creates represent laborers; workers who often exist on the fringes of society and go unnoticed. As part of a series reflection on labor, class, and race, Gomez creates both life-size cardboard cutouts and two-dimensional pieces. The cutouts represent the quiet presence of these laborers even while they disrupt the everyday experience of passersby. A cardboard cutout of a nanny once stood near a park. Another cutout showed a man tending to the greenery outside the Beverly Hills Hotel. These often don’t last long out in public spaces — but their presence lingers.

In his paintings, Gomez brings these same figures into spaces of luxury — decadent homes…