Rene Vasquez

Formula for The Construction of a Life #3

Tissue paper and acrylic varnish on canvas

“An attempt to use the visual system of layering and mixing as a metaphor for how we build our life and create beauty and meaning out of the randomness of our experiences.”

— Rene Vasquez

About the artist

Rene Vasquez

American

I attended Art Center College of Design in Pasadena Ca., after which I began a career as an artist in Los Angeles. I was represented through the years by Galleria Las Americas, SOHO Gallery, and MLA Gallery. My work was also shown at the LA Biennial, Riverside Art Museum, Gene Autry Museum, Museum of Latin American Art, and numerous group and solo shows.

In 2008 I lost virtually everything in the economic collapse. Additionally, my studio storage space was broken into, and among the boxes stolen were years of documentation of work and exhibition history.

And while I tried to carry on as an artist for a few years after, I eventually became disillusioned and stopped making art altogether.

Fast forward ten years later. I moved to Winston Salem and almost miraculously my new environment sparked something that was still living inside me. I suddenly had the urge to make art again. I have been using very limited materials and have moved from figurative work to abstract pieces.

In the short time I have been painting again I have created nearly 100 new pieces and have been part of a group show at Sugarlift Gallery in New York, was the recipient of the Pamela Howland Individual Artist Grant through the Arts Council of Winston Salem, and am slowly building a new audience for my work.