Conrad Ruíz (b. 1983, Monterey Park, CA), lives and works in Los Angeles, California.
What is one Mantra that you live by in regards to your practice as an artist?
My Mantra is to trust my instincts. When I get excited about an idea, or image, I have to trust there is an underlying reason, even if I may not completely understand why. When I hold onto an image, I paint it. There is something to the process of painting a found image, I transform the image, I remember it, and I learn something different.
How does family influence your artwork?
As a teenager, I listened to a lot of Tupac, Wu-Tang Clan and watched movies like Scarface and Terminator 2. However, my brother loved comic books. He also introduced me to Manga and Anime and filled my life with nerd shit. I was a kid who was aggressive and had friends who were bullies, and I had trouble reconciling the gap between performing my angst and exploring my interiority. I became fascinated with illustrations because he had no filter and wanted to share his interest with me, and I read comics with him. I started to draw characters from The Maxx comics and the X-Men. I didn’t learn about painting and contemporary art until I was nearly done with my undergrad degree, so the urge to draw, paint, and make images started from there. My parents met in a Chicano student group ACCION at CalStateLA — she became a teacher and he was an LA Sheriff (and Vietnam War Veteran) who had no interest in talking about his experiences in war. However, he did like watching war movies and that was how we bonded. Weirdly, the action and stylized violence was the common thread in both comics and film. I often think about these influences on my aesthetics and also the way I approach the concepts in my work – centering around Hellenistic action and reflections on how “masculinity” is constructed/deconstructed.
What is your creative process and how has it evolved?
The altered context is forever changing, but it does revolve around my need to recreate a saturated, sensational moment. I have done so with collages I then paint from, and I have done so painting unaltered insane uncanny photographs that truly shock me. Painting in watercolor has always been a subversive way to approach capital “P” painting in my opinion – the medium of a Sunday painter who makes vapid landscapes being used to render “Die Hard” level action scenes and re-present sensational, if not disturbing, realities.
Who is somebody currently living that you have the most respect for in the art world?
No one. Ana Mendieta but she is dead. Oh, wait— maybe Ai WeiWei. Tough rebels who remain true to themselves against all odds…
What is the most interesting art fair that you have been to or heard about that you would like to attend?
I always love going to Material in Mexico City. I think the galleries and artists are always exciting. I genuinely do not know what to expect when I go and that’s a great feeling for me. I like to be surprised by art, but I don’t like surprise parties or when my girlfriend jumps out from around the corner and scares me. Also, my mom is a Chilanga, which means she is from Mexico City, so it’s important to check in with that part of my mind and soul.
What new institutional collection would you like to be in?
The Drawing Center is a classic. I love the Hammer Museum. Not sure how many new collecting institutions there are, but I’m open to them.
Describe what an ideal space would look like for one of your artworks to reside in.
Just out in the world being enjoyed and not packed away in a warehouse. I think most artists feel that way.
Which artist or artists would you like to be in a group show with in the future?
Barnaby Furnas, Inka Essenhigh, and Walton Ford. All three are artists I idolized during my MFA program and it would feel like an important old dream coming true.
What part of the art ecosystem excites you the most for the future of your practice?
I genuinely enjoy visiting artists in their studios and learning more about them, and their practice. I started young, I began exhibiting with Jessica Silverman in 2009 when I was in my 20s — and aside from having another solo in a museum, it’s truly my peers who keep things exciting. I value times in which I get to learn and share everything I have experienced on my journey, whether that be in a big realized solo exhibition or an electric conversation in the studio.
