Roger Danilo Carmona
American. b. 1983, Leon, Nicaragua
BFA 2006 School of Visual Arts, NYC, honors graduate
MFA 2010 Bard College, Milton Avery School of Art in Annandale on Hudson, NY
GM Kremer Pigments, New York City, since 2007
Artist-in-Registry, White Columns, since 2023
Member of the American Institute for Conservation, since 2010
Member of the College Art Association, since 2010
Studio located in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
On The Current Work
I come from a family of storytellers, poets, and amateur comedians. Drawing inspiration from this tradition, I discovered early on that painting is my method of learning. It's a powerful tool for me to reflect on memories and discoveries. I use techniques from World Memory Champions and create visual representations of memory palaces to recall information. These visual constructs help me remember the language of my stories, capturing their structures and vibrant colors.
Painting is my thought experiment, allowing me to transcribe data and act as a translator, especially as a Nicaraguan-American millennial. My ultimate goal is to become a geomancer, a visionary, and a magical realist, aiming to depict communication barriers from social anxiety. I paint in invented languages to capture people's essence.
When you look at my paintings, I encourage you to wander and have a dialogue with yourself. They serve as navigational tools through ambiguity, inviting exploration of miscommunications. From my perspective, the distilled form within the abstraction holds no confusion. However, I intentionally leave the intended representation open to interpretation. The materiality of each painting plays a crucial role in shaping its language structure. I create binders, materials, and techniques from scratch, tailoring them to each artwork's unique language.
The resulting collection tells a narrative of our daily struggles with miscommunication. The paintings invite viewers to playfully perceive form and color as dynamic characters on a stage. I carefully select pigments to convey the work's attitude and place, acting as a record of the historical processes of painting. By juxtaposing historical and modern pigments and materials, my work becomes a passionate exploration, reminiscent of an enthusiastic review or the whimsical research of a clown-scientist. Through this exploration, I aim to uncover how the act of painting may have played a role in the evolution of our human communication abilities.
Group Exhibitions:
2023 Chaos and Order, MC Gallery, New York, NY
2023 Intimate Immensity, The Empty Circle, Brooklyn, NY
2020 Drawing 2020, Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Manatee , Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago, IL
2017 Ice Storm, The Willows, Brooklyn, NY
2017 Private Practice, Underdonk, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Roger Danilo Carmona and Kenny Rivero, Gallery Fofo, Rahway, NJ
Solo Exhibitions:
2022 Innuendos / Insinuazioni, Galleria Sasamina, Calabria, Italy
2012 Open Source Meme, CS Gallery, Miami, FL
Curated:
2012 Fresh Ingredients, CS Gallery, Miami FL
Highlight Lectures and Panels:
2024 Artist materials and frames : how they evolved. A panel discussion with Alexander Katlan, Gerald Kurian, Michael Harding, Roger Carmona, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2019 The Perversity of Technique, a conversation with Jarrett Earnest, David Zwirner, in conjunction with the exhibition “The Young and Evil”, New York, NY
2018 Premodern Paint: Postmodern Practice: Encaustic, Egg Tempera, and Casein in the Twenty-First Century at College Art Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL
Visiting Artist Lecturer:
MICA Hoffberger Painting Graduate School, Baltimore, Maryland, 2019, 2018, 2017
Rhode Island School of Design, Art Conservation Department, Rhode Island, 2021
School of Visual Arts, Painting Department, New York City, 2016, 2017
Golden Gate Atelier, Oakland, California, 2015
Fashion Institute of Technology, Illustration Department, New York City, 2016 - 2023
Artisan Expo, 2016
What do you see in the paintings?
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Painting is a resistance to stop growing up and keep the spirit of a kid.
- Roger Danilo Carmona