LOUIS GONZALEZ
About Artist
I was born and raised in the barrio of Northside in Houston, TX. My Artwork is heavily influenced by my Mexican-American Culture. In masking the faces I paint, I am showing my own hypocrisy. I have hidden who I really am to fit into a society that has not always accepted my true face. I use the images of my culture to state to everyone that I am proud to show who I am. I do this not as a political statement or to gain acceptance, but to merely say that we are here and we exist. Experiencing the loss of my mother at a young age I found myself searching for answers of life and death, while struggling to climb out the dark hole of depression. In my quest I discovered the holiday of "Dia De Los Muertos/Day of the Dead". Long celebrated by my family, but never really understood. I found beauty in the bright colors and imagery used to celebrate the lives of family and friends that had passed before us. I soon began to notice that my work began a transformation that reflected what I was celebrating. The art I was creating became the route of healing from a long journey of pain and depression. I had found my answer. Now I paint in the memory of those that I have and will always love. Looking forward I want to expand to large scale painting of Murals. Studying Mexican Artists Diego Rivera, Jose Clemente Orozco and David Siqueiros, I aspire to Share the voice I have found.
Exhibitions:
2018
2017 Frida @ 110, ChimMaya Art Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2017 Art for Hope, Curated by Nicola Parente & Justin Garcia, Houston, TX
2016 White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX
2016 Mexican Heritage, Shell Corporate, Houston, TX
2016 Art for Hope, Houston, TX
2016 East End Foundation, Houston, TX
2016 Passport to Mexico Central Market, Houston, TX (Juried)
2016 Hispanic Heritage Art Show, Houston Community College, Houston, TX
2016 Dia De Los Muertos Art Show, Café Brasil Art Gallery, Houston, TX (Juried)
2016 Dia De Los Muertos Group Art Show, East End Art Gallery, Houston, TX
2016 Emilio Navaira Tribute Art Show, East End Art Gallery, Houston, TX (Juried)
2015 Explicitly Chingona’s 5, East Art Gallery, Houston, TX (Juried)
2015 Orgullo Mexicano, Talento Bilingual de Houston, Houston, TX, Featuring Irma Infante, Lizbeth Ortiz and Louis Gonzalez
2015 Just Ink 5, East End Art Gallery, Houston, TX (Juried)
2015 Suenos De Los Muertos, Solo Show, Talento Bilingual de Houston, Houston, TX
2015 Dia De Los Muertos Art Show, Corazon De Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, Featuring George Yepes and Louis Gonzalez (Juried)
2014 Fire or Ice, Kallinen Contemporary Art Gallery, Houston, TX (Juried)
2013 Frida Art Festival, East End Art Gallery, Houston, TX(Juried)
Festivals and Art Markets:
2017 Bayou City Art Festival Downtown, Houston, TX (Juried)
2017 Downtown Burbank Arts Festival, Burbank, CA (Juried)
2017 Madness on Main, Houston, TX
2017 Brushes and Needles Art Show, Houston, TX
2016 Bayou City Arts Festival Memorial Park, Houston, TX (Juried)
2016 Midtown Art in the Park, Houston, TX (Juried)
2016 East End Street Fest, Houston, TX
2016 First Saturday Art Market, Houston, TX
2016 Independent Art Market, Houston, TX
2016 East End Taco Fest, Houston, TX
2016 Bayou City Arts Festival Downtown, Houston, TX (Juried)
2016 Day of the Dead Art Festival, MECA, Houston, TX
2015 Bayou City Arts Festival Downtown, Houston, TX(Juried)
2015 Annual Frida Art Festival, East End Art Gallery, Houston, TX
2015 East End Tamale Fest, Houston, TX
2015 East End Street Fest, Houston, TX
2015 Day of the Dead Art Festival, MECA, Houston, TX
2014 East End Tamale Festival, Houston, TX
2014 East End Street Fest, Houston, TX
2014 Day of the Dead Art Festival, MECA, Houston, TX
2012 Bayou City Arts Festival Memorial Park, Houston, TX(Juried)
2013 Day of the Dead Art Festival, MECA, Houston, TX
2012 Day of the Dead Art Festival, MECA, Houston, TX
2011 Day of the Dead Heights Art Festival, Houston, TX
2011 Day of the Dead Art Festival, MECA, Houston, TX
2010 Day of the Dead Heights Art Festival, Houston, TX
Private and Corporate Collections:
White Oak Music Hall, Houston, TX
Shell Corporate Office, Houston, TX
Precinct 6 Constable Building, Houston, TX
Paul Rodriguez, Los Angeles, CA
Rhonda Rousey, Venice Beach, CA
William Van Buren, Esq., Houston, TX
Bernie Aldape III, Esq., Houston, TX
Press:
2016
Anthony Reed, Featured Story "From Tragedy to Triumph" ABC News 13, November 2, 2016
Kim Hogstrom, "Independence Heights Art Market A Diverse, Friendly Affair", The Leader, July 15, 2016
Charitable Donations:
2017
Art for Hope, Houston, TX
2016
East End Foundation, Houston, TX
MECA Gala, Houston, TX
Art for Hope, Houston, TX
Precinct 6 Constable Building, Houston, TX
Marty Vasquez fight against Cancer, Houston, TX
2014
Alyssa Martinez fight against Cancer, Houston, TX
Education:
1996, Glassel School of Art, Houston, TX
2009, Studied under Gary Hernandeze
