Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.
My name is Nico Ramirez Rosas, I was born in El Paso, Texas, and grew up there, but I live and work in Chicago now. My birthday is at the end of October, and I started hormone replacement therapy two years ago on Halloween. I like long walks and karaoke, and I try to go to the beach everyday. I make paintings, and altars, and run scams.
Is there a moment you look back on as being formative to the work you do?
No. The work I do is always changing, things happen and my work changes, you can see it over time, but I have always made work. So not any one specific moment is formative, I have a lot of moments.
How were you introduced to the mediums that you work with?
My mom taught me how to paint and draw when I was really little. It was all in acrylic or pastel, I didn’t start using oil till 2021. I still try to keep my painting stripped to what she taught me. My mom also had photoshop and sketchup on her Mac so I would play with those a lot until I got a phone and I started making movies on it.
Are there any influences that are core to your work?
Yes. At the core, my work has always been influenced by the pharmakon and taking the space between pleasure and poison into consideration. My introduction to this was Lee Lozano’s instruction pieces that function as a sort of spiritual training and simultaneous self-decay. I see this relationship show up in religion, in politics, in culture. For me this is mediated by my environment, and the people I spend my time with, or the things I consume. Also music and lyrics. Right now I especially love lyrics by this band Sexy Sushi. I have this secret project where I make bootleg t-shirts for them.
What kind of imagery are you drawn to?
I am really into anything with high tension. Things that are very severe or violent I want to walk in on them when I shouldn’t, or see them right before they happen. Most of the work I own is color fields though. I think that is what happens after violence.
When needed, where do you look for inspiration? Have/how have these sources changed over time?
If I get to a point where I don’t agree with my work or don’t like anything around me, I need a hard reset. I reset by getting away from everything, usually this involves traveling to big land and staying there till I learn something or get a sense of what to do next. Whenever I reset it is me just kind of looking for a new teacher or getting outside of myself, so what I get out of it each time can vary.
What are some common motifs in your work & what do they speak to?
I use the image of the Virgin Mary and Kate Moss in the altars I make, they are the same thing to me. To me this is the world showing up in the image of a woman. The reference image for Kate Moss comes from this photo taken by Annie Leibovitz in 1944 at the Royalton Hotel in New York City, Kate is lying naked in bed with Johnny, except I’ll change the orientation of the image. If Kate is pointed right side up, the altar serves as an output for energy. If Kate is upside down, the altar serves as an input for energy.
What’s your interest in magic? Where does it stem from and what role does it have in your practice?
Well I have always prayed, that is what magic is to me, and that is what I’m interested in.
In my practice, painting or constructing altars is half of it. I think about the alchemy of painting a lot and applying mood to a surface, it does the same thing as praying for me. The other half of it is my critique on the whole thing. As much as I pray, I don’t know why I do it or why it works, so I take a step back and try to see where everything is coming from and how magic will help us get to the future. Right now I am just doing a lot of research and taking part in different rituals.
Can you tell us a memory of someone interacting with your work that frequently crosses your mind?
I have a really bad memory, so I don’t think about that so much, but I love watching people interact with my wizard hats. I first showed them at the opening of “7 Witches Walk Into A Bar…”, with HEIMA, but have also taken them to house shows and parties. People always freak out. Some people hate them and get in this weird mood, other people have a lot of fun and won’t take them off, drinking late into the night at a bar wearing this giant purple hat. I love seeing who does what.
What is your experience like as an artist living and working in Chicago?
It is sweet, it is all very romantic. I can’t even talk about it, it is too good.
How does your creative community now compare to your creative community when you were younger?
It was cool then and it is cool now. When I was in El Paso I didn’t make music but a lot of my friends did so I would make their videos, or take photos, or set up shows, it was a lot of fun. Anytime I am there I make sure to go see a show, the punk scene is so good, you’ll end up in a big Tuscan house or a small adobe. I really like this place called the Cannibal. In Chicago I like it the same. There are more people making work here and I like seeing how varied everyone can be. Also I like being in a big city where people are always on, it really changes the way you make work. I go out every week though, there is always something happening and I try to see as many shows as possible. I think it is so important, we need to support each other, we all need to be outside right now.
What’s your studio or workspace like? Do you have any rituals when you settle in there?
My studio is in my apartment. My bed sits across from my studio so I can see my work when I wake up and before I go to sleep. My practice and I are sometimes a lot so I really try to keep my place as bare as possible. I only have a few pieces hanging on my wall, I have my bed, my altar, and a couple work tables.
Yes. I’ll wake up when it’s still dark out and walk to the beach, it’s like a three minute walk. I’ll be in the water till it gets me dizzy, then I go back home. After that I make coffee, and light some Patchouli. This is a pretty good setup and I’ll work all day and into the night. Sometimes fasting is involved.
How do you manage tending to the variety of responsibilities in the work you do? How do you mitigate burnout or exhaustion?
I don’t really get burnout, it is pretty rare. I usually have a lot going on, or a lot of different projects I want to see through, but I also have a lot of energy so it kind of works out. I am more likely to get bored than burnt out. As time goes by though everything gets smoother. I just curated a show at GURE (goo-ray) and that was really nice and a major change of pace. I got to work with a lot of artists whose work I’ve admired for a long time, but in that way it really took me out of my work, and my practice, and myself. I showed up a lot more relaxed to the studio, that is a good thing right now.
Are there any travel experiences that are formative to your work or to you as an individual?
Yes. I used to spend a lot of time in Marfa, TX. It is this little town in the middle of nowhere in the Chihuahuan desert, next to Valentine, TX. One time I followed a healer Guadalupe Maravilla there. It has done a lot for me at different times in my life. It is definitely home. Also this time last year I was living in Seyðisfjörður, Iceland, this tiny town hidden in the fjords. I would practice dreaming and reality shifting, a lot of woo woo internet practices, it was really special and I learned a lot. Both have a big sky, and are isolated by weather and intense landscapes. It does something to your head that I really like. Also both scare Brits.
What do you collect?
I collect dime bags I find on the ground. Also it happens a lot where people and friends give me small gifts so I collect those. Everything ends up on my altar. Sometimes I think I was royalty in a past life and people would come from across the land to bring me riches.
Interviewed by Luca Lotruglio.