September 4 - October 31, 2020
A solo exhibition featuring work by Raul Rene Gonzalez.
From the FWCAC:
“In his solo exhibition Doing Werk, Raul Rene Gonzalez’s drawings and paintings focus on the efforts and labors of the artist’s daily life. Depicting scenes of himself with his daughters in the studio, home, and out and about, the work draws attention to how we parse the minutes of our day and balance our roles, responsibilities, and multifaceted personalities, through the lens of an artist-stay at home dad.
Gonzalez’s interests in construction, labor, and the working-class thread through these works through the subtle integration of safety orange, concrete, house paint, and scenes of teaching his daughters to use tools. Concurrently the work highlights the social and economic dichotomy between domestic work and manual labor. They bring to surface the values assigned to labor in different spheres, their gendering, and possible cultural shifts.
“Through this series, I hope to shift public perspective on how we often associate stereotypes based on gender, ethnicity, or education. Back in 2015, I chose to stay at home with our newborn daughter and balancing my art career versus becoming a professor and balancing an art career. Once I settled in at understanding my role in nurturing and shaping our children, I knew I wanted to use my platform as a working artist to share my experiences. And in doing so, I would open dialogue about being a parent and an artist, something that is often ignored or taboo.”
Raul’s Doing Werk series has been growing and touring throughout Texas since 2017. Raul has had a solo exhibition in Austin, San Antonio, Houston, Brownsville, and now Fort Worth. Some of the work from this series has also been included in group shows in Massachusetts. It is worth to note in 2018 Raul completed an artists’ studio residency at the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art. During that time, he completed several of the small works on paper included in this exhibition.
Artist Biography
Raul Rene Gonzalez is a multi-dimensional visual artist who spends his time balancing an art career, being a stay-at-home-parent, and operating an Airbnb/studio space Werk House SA.
Originating from Houston and now living and working San Antonio, Raul utilizes a wide array of mediums through versatile methods of painting, drawing, performance, installation, and dance.
Through his artwork, he explores topics such as work, fatherhood, gender roles, labor, identity, pop culture, and abstraction.
Raul was recently awarded a 2020 Luminaria Artist Foundation Grant Award and will be using the grant to start a new series of oil paintings featuring artist-parents throughout Texas. He has also been the recipient of numerous awards and recognition, including a Sustainable Arts Foundation Grant, NALAC San Antonio-Artist Grant, Dave Bown Projects Award of Excellence, and Hunting Art Prize Finalist. Raul has also collaborated on projects and workshops designed for kids at The Doseum: San Antonio’s Museum for Kids, the McNay Art Museum, and Blue Star Contemporary.
His artwork has been shown nationally and regionally, including exhibitions at grayDUCK Gallery, Artpace, Miami University, and the McNay Art Museum, among others. His artwork is included in permanent collections such as The National Mexican Museum of Art, The National Hispanic Cultural Center Art Museum, Mexic-Arte Museum, McNay Art Museum, The University of Texas at San Antonio, The Woodlands High School Art Trust, and the City of San Antonio. Raul has an MFA in Art from The University of Texas at San Antonio and a BFA in Painting from the University of Houston.”
Fort Worth Community Arts Center - FWCAC
1300 Gendy Street
Fort Worth, 76107 TX
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