Mel Ramos
Encyclopedia
Mel Ramos is a U.S. figurative painter, whose work incorporates elements of realist
and abstract art
. Born in Sacramento, California
, he gained his greatest popularity in association with the Pop Art
movement of the 1960s.
Mel Ramos received his first important recognition in the early 1960s; since 1959 he has participated in more than 120 group shows. Along with other artists such as Andy Warhol
, Roy Lichtenstein
, Claes Oldenburg
and James Rosenquist
, Ramos produced art works that celebrated aspects of popular culture
as represented in mass media
. His paintings have been shown in major exhibitions of Pop Art in the U.S. and in Europe
, and reproduced in books, catalogs, and periodicals throughout the world.
The classification of Ramos within any particular school of art is disputed. Some critical observers of the "art scene" classify Mel Ramos as a pop artist. However, others believe identification of Ramos' work within the Pop movement of the 1960s implies a satirical or parodic bent which does not reflect the broader context of his paintings, and instead defend his "parodies" as respectful, affectionate tributes, a celebration of images with personal meaning.
Mel Ramos was one of four artist in the "Ashes to Life - A Portuguese American Story in Art", which was published in English and Portuguese for the exhibit of the same name with artists Nathan Oliveira Nathan Oliveira
, Joao de Brito and John Matos in 2008.
Ramos has been represented by the Louis K. Meisel
Gallery since 1971.
Realism (arts)
Realism in the visual arts and literature refers to the general attempt to depict subjects "in accordance with secular, empirical rules", as they are considered to exist in third person objective reality, without embellishment or interpretation...
and abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
. Born in Sacramento, California
Sacramento, California
Sacramento is the capital city of the U.S. state of California and the county seat of Sacramento County. It is located at the confluence of the Sacramento River and the American River in the northern portion of California's expansive Central Valley. With a population of 466,488 at the 2010 census,...
, he gained his greatest popularity in association with the Pop Art
Pop art
Pop art is an art movement that emerged in the mid 1950s in Britain and in the late 1950s in the United States. Pop art challenged tradition by asserting that an artist's use of the mass-produced visual commodities of popular culture is contiguous with the perspective of fine art...
movement of the 1960s.
Mel Ramos received his first important recognition in the early 1960s; since 1959 he has participated in more than 120 group shows. Along with other artists such as Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol
Andrew Warhola , known as Andy Warhol, was an American painter, printmaker, and filmmaker who was a leading figure in the visual art movement known as pop art...
, Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein
Roy Lichtenstein was a prominent American pop artist. During the 1960s his paintings were exhibited at the Leo Castelli Gallery in New York City and along with Andy Warhol, Jasper Johns, James Rosenquist and others he became a leading figure in the new art movement...
, Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg
Claes Oldenburg is a Swedish sculptor, best known for his public art installations typically featuring very large replicas of everyday objects...
and James Rosenquist
James Rosenquist
James Rosenquist is an American artist and one of the protagonists in the pop-art movement.-Background and education:...
, Ramos produced art works that celebrated aspects of popular culture
Popular culture
Popular culture is the totality of ideas, perspectives, attitudes, memes, images and other phenomena that are deemed preferred per an informal consensus within the mainstream of a given culture, especially Western culture of the early to mid 20th century and the emerging global mainstream of the...
as represented in mass media
Mass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
. His paintings have been shown in major exhibitions of Pop Art in the U.S. and in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and reproduced in books, catalogs, and periodicals throughout the world.
The classification of Ramos within any particular school of art is disputed. Some critical observers of the "art scene" classify Mel Ramos as a pop artist. However, others believe identification of Ramos' work within the Pop movement of the 1960s implies a satirical or parodic bent which does not reflect the broader context of his paintings, and instead defend his "parodies" as respectful, affectionate tributes, a celebration of images with personal meaning.
Mel Ramos was one of four artist in the "Ashes to Life - A Portuguese American Story in Art", which was published in English and Portuguese for the exhibit of the same name with artists Nathan Oliveira Nathan Oliveira
Nathan Oliveira
Nathan Oliveira was an American painter, printmaker, and sculptor, born in Oakland, California to Portuguese parents...
, Joao de Brito and John Matos in 2008.
Ramos has been represented by the Louis K. Meisel
Louis K. Meisel
Louis K. Meisel is an American published author and the founder and proponent of the photorealist art movement, coining the term in 1969. He is also the owner of one of the earliest art galleries located in SoHo at 141 Prince Street...
Gallery since 1971.