CURRENT & UPCOMING EXHIBITIONS

UPCOMING SOLO EXHIBITIONS
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Forum6 is pleased to present All About That Werk, a solo exhibition by visual and performance artist Raul Gonzalez. To put it simply, it’s a show about fatherhood, work, and playing with abstract expressionism.

All About That Werk is Raul’s first solo show in Houston since 2013. It features work that has been shown recently in San Antonio, Austin, Oklahoma, and Ohio as well as new work created for this space. Those who are familiar with Raul’s work will notice that while his materials and delivery may have changed, the themes present in his work—family, work, music, construction, abstraction—remain unchanged.

The exhibition reflects the artist’s identity as a stay-at-home parent to two young daughters and his effort to break down social and cultural stereotypes.  Through the combination of mixed-media paintings, drawings and prints, Raul offers a personal look into his day-to-day life as a working artist and father. This series includes highly rendered drawing-painting combinations on concrete fragments and other work site materials where construction scene imagery is combined with color and abstraction.
Many of his drawings were create during a two-week studio residency at MASS MoCA in North Adams, Massachusetts earlier this year.

In addition to his self-narrative work, Raul explores the same subjects through color, mark-making, and form in several abstract paintings included within the exhibition. Raul describes his abstract paintings as the “galaxies” where all his ideas and emotions can be expressed beyond the literal depiction in his other work.


For the opening reception, Raul will recreate his performance, “Self Portrait: Children’s Book Storyteller & Dancer,” which he recently performed at Dorf Gallery during the West Austin Studio Tour. He will alternate from reading two of his daughters’ favorite books to busting out some dance moves atop one of his iconic duct-tape paintings. 

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CURRENT AND UPCOMING 
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS
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Guest Curated by Gilberto Rocha
June 15 – August 26, 2018
Opening Reception: Friday, June 15, 6-9pm
Mexic-Arte Museum
419 Congress Ave | Austin, TX 78701
artwork showing at Mexic-Arte Museum - Austin, TX


Young Latino Artists 23: Beyond Walls, Between Gates, Under Bridges marks the 23rd year for this annual exhibition dedicated to the professional development of emerging Latinx artists and curators. YLA 23 is inspired by the significant social changes that have taken place along the U.S.–Mexico border over the last 20 years. 
 Featured artists will explore varied themes including issues of restriction, censorship, revolt, and hope as a catalyst for change.




 Curator's Statement 
Embedded into our beings, are the dreams of our parents and abuelitos. We are their living aspirations, their yearning hours of devotion for a creative opportunity. Molded with stories of hardship and struggle, religious upbringing, the smell of tortillas and sound of cumbias, young Latin artists today understand how crucial their creative role is in maintaining traditions and forging new ones. Beyond Walls, Between Gates, Under Bridges is a visual demonstration of who we are and the numerous obstacles of adversity we Latinxs, have endured and will continue to overcome.

YLA 23 Featured Artists Lisette Chavez (San Benito, TX), Evelyn Contreras (Santa Barbara, CA), Adrian Delgado (San Francisco, CA), Raul Gonzalez (Houston, TX), Alejandro Macias (Brownsville, TX), Juan Mora (Jalisco, MX), Andrew Ordonez (Fort Worth, TX), Natalia Rocafuerte (Campeche, MX), Abel Saucedo (El Paso, TX), Ana Treviño (Galveston, TX), and Jose Villanueva (San Luis Potosi, MX).

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RECENT PRESS:
http://glasstire.com/2018/05/17/top-five-may-17-2018/

 http://online.flipbuilder.com/rtnx/otox/

 https://www.austinchronicle.com/daily/arts/2018-05-14/critics-name-cream-of-the-cultural-crop/
















Dorf: Raul Gonzalez - Self Portrait - May 19, 2018

Feelin' Like A Champ | Revenant Gallery | April 6 - May 5, 2018



Feelin' Like A Champ
Revenant Gallery
1913 S. Flores, San Antonio, TX
April 6 - May 5, 2018

Closing Reception:
Saturday, May 5 | 5pm - 8pm

For his first solo exhibition at Revenant Gallery, multi-dimensional artist, Raul Gonzalez will transform the space into an immersive, energetic, and colorful installation, combining elements of mixed media abstract painting, video and live performances, and stencil-drawing prints.

In FEELIN’ LIKE A CHAMP, Raul Gonzalez has fun with exploring levels of achievement, drive, and winning. Raul plays with subjects such as sports, dance, mantras, and environment. Raul reflects on the Houston Astros winning their first World Series Championship, his recent 2-week studio residency at MASS MoCA (Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art) and now becoming a Featured Artist on Whataburger.com. 

The exhibition will include Raul’s cardboard panel and duct tape installations accompanied by video performances. In addition to the exhibition and in collaboration with Revenant Gallery, Raul has created a limited-edition Fiesta Medal, which combines color and design elements of the Astros, Spurs, and Whataburger with the mantra “Werk Hustle Sleep Repeat”. 


Revenant Gallery Artist Showcase "Raul Gonzalez" from RogueCity Media on Vimeo.

Featured Artist on Whataburger.com (Deep in the art)

Check out my Artist Feature on Whataburger.com
Click on this link to read the article as well.





DOING WORK | DOING WERK (grayDUCK Gallery & Freight Gallery)

grayDUCK Gallery
DOING WORK
Opening Reception: Saturday, November 4, 7-10pm
Exhibition Dates: November 4 – December 3, 2017
2213 E. Cesar Chavez St. | Austin, TX 78702

Saturday, November 4: 7:30pm
Artist Talk: Sunday, December 3, 2pm

Austin Chronicle Review 

DOING WORK Opening Night Performance at grayDUCK Gallery | Austin, TX
Image courtesy the gallery
Watch Performance

San Antonio Current Review

DOING WERK Opening Night Performance


One way to resist racism and stereotyping is to give people an alternative viewpoint. DOING WORK is a presentation of two bodies of paintings and drawings that were created to help shift public perception of working class immigrants and the role of stay-at-home fathers.
First, a series of detailed mixed-media drawings on painted concrete fragments and other construction site objects reflect sentiments of the working class, immigrants and current events. Individuals are often underpaid, under privileged and over worked because of their immigration status or ethnicity. This is my way of paying respect to those who build and otherwise improve our cities.

The second series consists of drawing-painting combinations that share my experiences being an artist and full-time dad to two daughters. Fathers are far too often portrayed as clueless parents and nurturers. I want to show what being a dad is like for me. I take the time to make sure our daughters are raised and mentored in a way that builds their character and confidence.
Now that I am a parent, my artwork gives me a better understanding of my parents. My mom, who passed away two and half years ago, was a stay-at-home-mother and babysitter for most of her life. My dad, who is 62, still works construction 40-48 hours a week and puts in overtime at various weekend jobs so he can send money to family back in Mexico. Some people learn about culture, traditions or languages from their parents. I mostly learned about work.
The exhibition will include three dance performances that embody both the narrative and emotional expression that I cannot capture within the drawings and paintings. The dances blend ideas of abstract expressionism with pop culture, electronic dance music and werkin it.
Doing Work/Doing Werk are supported in part by the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, the City of San Antonio Department of Arts & Culture, and Southwest Airlines through a grant from the NALAC Fund for the Arts.

2nd performance at Freight Gallery, January 13, 2018




Purchase Catalogue (Limited to 100 copies, 50 remaining. All are signed/numbered.)




TACO, TEXAS





I was asked to perform a version of "Andy Warhol Eats a Hamburger".

Filmmaker by Jorgen Leth made a film called 66 scenes from America.  One of those scenes was of Andy Warhol eating a burger.  At the end of the video, the caption
reads "Burger, New York".  From what I gather, Warhol agreed to be part of the film because he believed everyone who eats fast food is enjoying the same thing.  It doesn't matter whether you're a Hollywood actor, a homeless person, or a middle school kid, a burger from McDonald's or Burger King is exactly the same for each person.

After considering several ideas, I knew I had to include two things to personalize the performance.  Those two things were parenting and tacos.
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