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Biography
Born and raised in inner-city Houston, multi-dimensional artist Raul Gonzalez explores topics such as work, fatherhood, construction, labor, the working class, identity, and abstraction through versatile methods of painting, drawing, printmaking, performance, and dance. Now living in San Antonio with his wife and two daughters, Raul spends his days as a stay-at-home-dad.
Raul’s work is often inspired by being a stay-at-home father, work, construction, challenging stereotypes, and finding beauty in chaos. Raul’s foundations in drawing, painting, and self-taught dancing have allowed him to create a world of narrative, cultural symbolism, color, and energy.
His work ranges from paintings of construction scenes on concrete to colorful abstract installations made of cardboard and duct tape. He has danced 4 ½ miles across San Antonio as a way to “paint a line in space”. He shares drawings of himself as a stay-at-parent and uses his artwork to express himself and educate.
Raul received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Painting (Magna Cum Laude) from the University of Houston in 2010 and completed his Master of Fine Arts in Painting from the University of Texas at San Antonio in 2014.
Raul’s artwork has been exhibited both regionally and nationally. He has shown artwork at the McNay Art Museum, grayDUCK Gallery, Miami University Ohio, Artpace, Blue Star Contemporary Art Museum, Lawndale Art Center, MACLA, Mexic-Arte Museum, Centro de Artes, and Forum 6 Contemporary to name a few. He has done performances in Massachusetts, Texas, and Berlin, Germany.
Raul has curated exhibitions at the Carver Community Cultural Center and Clamp Light Studios, both in San Antonio. He was awarded a 2016 National Association of Latino Arts & Culture San Antonio Artist Grant. In 2017, he was a recipient of a Surdna Foundation Grant through the Guadalupe Cultural Center. In 2018, Raul completed an artist studio residency at Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art in North Adams MA.
Raul’s artwork has been included in a number of publications, including articles or features by Glasstire.com, the Houston Chronicle, San Antonio Express-News, San Antonio Current, Sightlines Magazine, The Austin Chronicle, The Oxford American, The American Scholar, The Houston Press, Whataburger, and KENS5 Television.
Raul’s artwork is included in private collections throughout the United States as well as public collections such as the McNay Art Museum (San Antonio, TX), The National Museum of Mexican Art (Chicago, IL), Mexic-Arte Museum (Austin, TX), National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum (Albuquerque, NM), the University of Texas at San Antonio, The Woodlands High School Art Trust, and the City of San Antonio.
Artist Statement
My work explores topics such as work, fatherhood, identity, gender roles, construction, labor, the working class, identity, and abstraction. I use versatile methods of painting, drawing, printmaking, performance, and dance.
I believe in demystifying the canvas, redefining social stereotypes, and working towards evolving as an individual, father, and artist.
I use my artwork to share my personal experience and to educate. I also use it as a place to share energy, joy, and love.
What we create is both a reflection of the internal self and the world we absorb. I am constantly exploring new cultures through music, dance, and art. Through my experiences, the artwork I create evolves just as well.
My motto is Werk. Hustle. Sleep Repeat.
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