Gonzalez lives and paints in unique, surreal surroundings in the Altiplano. In these vast high plains in the Andes Mountains in Bolivia is an area south of La Paz called the Valle de la Luna (Valley of the Moon). Here hills and cliffs appear to be slowly melting into the gray earth. In his studio next to his home in these badlands the artist feverishly works many paintings simultaneously, layering and scraping, working long hours, melding tradition and globalism using bright, layered oranges and reds, textured darks, frenzied marks and luscious drips.
The artist was born in Texas to an American mother and Bolivian father. The family moved between the United States and Bolivia when Gonzalez was a child. He studied art in Texas and received an advanced degree at Rutgers/Mason Gross School of Art and a Ralph Bunche Fellowship in the 1980s. He lived and studied further in Europe then moved to Bolivia to become a major art force in South America.
Gonzalez's work combines the gestural power of the Abstract Expressionists with the passionate coloring and texturing of the South American abstract tradition, providing a window between continents and cultures. His influences range from Arshile Gorky, Alberto Burri, Michael Goldberg and Maria Luisa Pacheco to the rich Andean tradition of weavers, early native Abstract Masters. Gonzalez's abstractions are carefully honed and polished, engaging and compelling in a non-verbal way.
The artist's pedigree embraces four continents. He shows in major cities in Bolivia including La Paz, Santa Cruz, Cochabamba, Sucre and in capital cities all over South America. He has represented Bolivia in biennials in La Paz, Venice, Sao Paulo and Cairo, taking several First Place and Grand Prize awards and shows in Germany, Hungary, The Netherlands, Spain and extensively in North America including Panama City, Mexico City, Miami, Houston, Atlanta, New York and Memphis. Gonzalez is also represented in major museum collections in North and South America including the Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) in Long Beach, California.
Lisa Kurts Gallery in East Memphis will present an exhibition of abstract paintings by Bolivian/American artist Keiko Gonzalez entitled Altiplano. The exhibition will open on Friday March 5, 6:00-8:00pm and continue through April 30, 2010. It will be Gonzalez's first solo exhibition in Memphis.
