The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is pleased to present “Poly-wave: Seeds of Color and Shape,” a solo exhibition by Chicago-based artist and UIS alum Mauricio Ramirez, who has developed a career as an accomplished muralist since graduating from UIS in 2012. “Poly-wave: Seeds of Color and Shape” will open on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, and will run through Thursday, Oct. 20, 2022. A reception will be held on Thursday, Sept. 22, 2022, from 5:30 - 8:00 p.m. at the UIS Visual Arts Gallery.

Ramirez is known for large-scale public artworks that can be found throughout the Midwest and greater United States. He works with a vibrant, colorful palette and depicts subjects through a geometry-based style to explore Mexican American cultural roots, community dynamics, and personal identity. “Poly-wave: Seeds of Color and Shape” presents this signature style and focus but through a series of smaller, standalone paintings. Though these works function at a scale that departs drastically from large-scale public murals, the monumental presence of the work is not lost in translation.

“I create artwork that crosses borders and boundaries," says Ramirez. "Whether negotiating the identities of clients or corporations, or the intimacies of cultural characteristics within neighborhoods, attention is facilitated with an acute awareness that art in the public space permeates the subconscious.”

“My more personal artwork is a contribution to the community; frequently a cultural icon that transcends rich intersecting historical and popular culture references that speak to the complex diaspora of the United States. I wholeheartedly believe in the importance of how the visibility of cultures can lead to not only the growth of confidence but also care within our communities.”

Specializing in contemporary murals, Ramirez works primarily on projects that are funded by local communities across the country, as well as commercially commissioned murals. His community-based practice takes him to various sites where he becomes immersed in the cultural scene of each place, affording him an opportunity to focus on engagement and connection with members of that community.

This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council Agency. The UIS Visual Arts Gallery is centrally located on the UIS campus in the Health and Science Building, room 201 (HSB 201). Gallery hours are Monday through Thursday, 11:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m.