Los Angeles artist Ramón Vargas makes paintings that amplify and investigate the cultural reality of Brown communities. Utilizing a representational style, he alternately challenges, celebrates, and subverts prevailing concepts of identity, tradition, and interpersonal relationships. Drawing on his own life experiences, Ramón’s figurative paintings blend realism with a surreal sense of color and place, often incorporating heavy symbolism, repeating patterns, and flat geometrical elements. Throughout his career, he has taught art for non-profit and grassroots community organizations, and is a known mentor for arts education and community outreach in Los Angeles and Orange County. In addition to painting, he is also a muralist and printmaker and has worked in Los Angeles, New York and throughout California.