Luis Romero

Email: luis_f_romero@yahoo.com

I was born in Mexico, brought up in Puerto Rico, and am now living in Chicago. I received my MFA in painting and drawing from the School of the Art Institute in 2001. Additional educational background: The School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Post Baccalaureate Certificate, 1999; Escuela Nacional de Artes Plasticas, Mexico DF, Mexico, Certificate, 1989; Boston University, Boston, MA, B.A., Philosophy, Literature and Film, 1987; Courses at the Taller de Bellos Oficios of the University of Puerto Rico, the Escuela de Artes Plasticas, and the Liga de Estudiantes de Arte, San Juan, Puerto Rico, 1987-98.

Interview

Luis Romero’s ArtStyle Blog interview by Darrell Roberts was published in July, 2007.

Grants / Awards

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant, 2007
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Trustee Scholarship, 1999
School of the Art Institute of Chicago Presidential Scholarship, 1998

Gallery / Exhibitions

Recent Exhibitions:
Art Chicago 2008, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Chicago, IL, 04/08
Two Thousand Years of Sculpture, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Philadelphia, PA, 02/08
Art Chicago 2007, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Chicago, IL, 04/07
Rock, Paper, Scissors: American Collage Now, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Philadelpia, PA, 03/06
Art Rotterdam 2006, Annet Gelink Gallery, Rotterdam, Netherlands, 02/06
The Shadow of the Leaf Cannot Touch the Ground, Annet Gelink Gallery, Amsterdam, Netherlands, 10/05
Art Basel 2005, Fleisher Ollman Gallery, Basel, Switzerland, 06/05
Drawn to Drawing, Betty Rymer Gallery, Chicago, IL, 04/05

Collections:
DeBruin Collection, Amsterdam, Netherlands; Deutsche Bank Collection, Berlin, Germany; Collection of Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI; Lambelet Collection, Basel, Switzerland; Collection of Anna Marx, Berlin, Germany; Collection of Josephine Albarelli, Philadelphia, PA; Jedermann Collection, Princeton, NJ; Collection of Ray Yoshida, Chicago, IL.

Artist’s Statement

I am interested in doing drawings that work as objects and that have an interior space. I am particularly interested in drawings that suggest a hidden area that can’t be seen and is unknowable. Many of my works are constructed through layers of paper. Many of my works explore how the illusion of space is constructed and destroyed.

In the last couple of years I have been using found materials to make collaged objects. My primary interest has been to explore color, particularly by associating color and transience. In these works I started using paint as another layer, as another way to cover or envelope.

The most recent works are constructions made of layers of torn cardboard. The paint in these pieces is applied directly with my fingers. Among other things, these works are an excuse to touch trash, to express tenderness for trash. There is violence in sentimentality.

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