• Growing up as a queer brown man in the outskirts of South Texas, Ricardo Partida found solace in visual arts,...

    Death from Above (detail), 2019, India ink and acrylic on canvas, 193 x 101.6 cm

    Growing up as a queer brown man in the outskirts of South Texas, Ricardo Partida found solace in visual arts, channeling his work to criticise and redefine the traditional representations of gender and sexuality in the Western Art Canon. Manipulating the dichotomy of menace and allure, Partida’s work focuses on depicting sexuality and desire in an unapologetic light. 

     

    My objective is to further deconstruct tools of desire and seduction through decoding body language and the viewer’s relationship to circulated images, antiquity, and canonized painting tropes in history.

     

    Taking inspiration from old masters’ compositions and neoclassical elements of Greek mythology, Partida creates imagery that questions power structures through unconventional depictions of masculinity and seduction. Through his distinctive stylised portraits, Partida also addresses themes of identity and belonging. Crafting narratives that take their conceptual footing from reality and propel them into an embellished realm of fantasy, Partida creates imagery that resonates with the audience on a personal level. 

     

  • Bridgeport To Heaven

    For his Platform show Partida chose a series titled Bridgeport to Heaven, which consists of sensual avatars that obscure self and subject to embody power and desire. As elucidated by the title, Bridgeport To Heaven refers to Partida’s relationship to his neighbourhood Bridgeport in Chicago, Illinois and the space he occupies within it. As Bridgeport is a heavily patrolled area, slammed between the Pilsen Latino neighbourhood and Chinatown, it provides a unique hybridity of cultures and settings from which to draw inspiration. 

     

    A focal theme in these works is the portrayal of contradictions, ambiguity and the human state. The jewel-toned hues, as well as the gestural lines and veils of oil paint applied thinly, as if watercolour, brilliantly exemplify Partida’s artistic vernacular. The interplay between the vivid colours, detailed and loose brushwork creates immersive compositions. The bold use of colour further accentuates the sense of tension.  An interesting element in these works is the piercing gaze and expressivity of each subject, which according to the artist is reflective of his experience navigating hetero spaces as a gay man. 

    “As a brown gay man, the gaze is usually key to negotiating and navigating these environments- a person’s gaze can inform one of different things, whether it's desire or danger."

    In these works, the centralised figure’s gaze often creates a push and pull of desire and hostility by complicating seductive stands with an aggressive pent-up energy. Though the subjects may sometime morph and change, they remain consistent of the “Fag Fatale”, Partida’s idea of an effeminate man bringing the world down to its knees. Queerness is not just a subject in Partida’s paintings but a focal element of his attempt to outline a space for the LGBTQ experience within the western pictorial tradition, by creating "a naughty, dark, and sexy world".

     

    • Ricardo Partida 10 Speed Freak, 2020 India Ink and acrylic on canvas 101.6 x 76.2 cm
      Ricardo Partida
      10 Speed Freak, 2020
      India Ink and acrylic on canvas
      101.6 x 76.2 cm
    • Ricardo Partida Final Fantasy, 2020 Oil on canvas 152.4 x 182.9 cm
      Ricardo Partida
      Final Fantasy, 2020
      Oil on canvas
      152.4 x 182.9 cm
    • Ricardo Partida Like a Thief In The Night, 2019 Oil on canvas 101.6 x 101.6 cm
      Ricardo Partida
      Like a Thief In The Night, 2019
      Oil on canvas
      101.6 x 101.6 cm
    • Ricardo Partida Orbit, 2020 Oil on canvas 106.7 x 101.6 cm
      Ricardo Partida
      Orbit, 2020
      Oil on canvas
      106.7 x 101.6 cm
    • Ricardo Partida Death from Above , 2019 India ink and acrylic on canvas 193 x 101.6 cm
      Ricardo Partida
      Death from Above , 2019
      India ink and acrylic on canvas
      193 x 101.6 cm
    • Ricardo Partida Grand Slam, 2021 oil on canvas 45.72 x 60.96 cm
      Ricardo Partida
      Grand Slam, 2021
      oil on canvas
      45.72 x 60.96 cm
  • ABOUT THE ARTIST

    Ricardo Partida is a Mexican born, Chicago based painter and graduate from The School of The Art Institute of Chicago’s Master of Fine Arts in Studio program. His work largely critiques and illuminates depictions of gender and desire in the Western Art Canon. Using the visual language of figura serpentinata, his works create exalted alter egos that question conventional power structures while obscuring artist and subject. Through the use of surface treatments, mark making, and hybridizing lines and proportions previously associated with a gendered painting language, his work creates surrogacies of seduction that explore carnal desires by creating a push and pull of menace and allure. Partida’s work has been exhibited nationally including Texas, Chicago, and New York.

  • CHOSEN CHARITY: ARTS OF LIFE

    CHOSEN CHARITY: ARTS OF LIFE

    Founded in 2000, Arts of Life's mission has been to create a working, person-centric, artistic community while providing a work environment of equality in Chicago. By providing artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities a collective space to expand their practice and strengthen their leadership, Arts of Life strives to advance the creative arts community. 

     

    "On behalf of our entire community, we are thrilled that Ricardo was selected for this exciting exhibition and that he in turn selected Arts of Life as a benefactor of his sales. We relish the opportunity to partner with Unit London to expand and diversify the art industry. Like Unit London, Arts of Life works to promote equity, innovation, and accessibility in the arts community by championing the work of artists with intellectual and developmental disabilities. We appreciate this opportunity to increase awareness of both Ricardo and our studio artists through this exhibition." Vincent Uribe, Director of Exhibitions and External Relations