Redacted — Opening reception May 23rd, 7–9pm at Ivester Contemporary in Austin, Texas. A two-person exhibition with Carlos Ramirez.
For inquiries contact [email protected]
Embrace, 2026 / Acrylic on paper / 24 x 18 in. @ivester_contemporary@c.ramirez2323@mad_deal
Ivester Contemporary is pleased to present Redacted, a two-person exhibition of new work by Emilio Villalba and Carlos Ramirez, co-curated by Matt Diehl. The exhibition opens May 23, and brings together two distinct yet deeply connected artistic responses to the emotional and political realities of the present moment.
Redacted considers how contemporary life is shaped by constant exposure to social and political instability through media saturation. While both artists engage with current events, they do so through distinct visual languages.
Ramirez confronts these conditions directly. His works incorporate politically charged imagery and text, including references to immigration enforcement, protest language, and censorship. Motifs such as black redaction bars obscure the eyes of his figures, evoking both surveillance and erasure. Drawing from a visual vocabulary rooted in Chicano cultural histories, revolutionary posters, sign painting, and graffiti, Ramirez creates layered compositions that are grounded in lived experience.
In contrast, Villalba turns inward. His paintings explore the psychological weight of existing within this climate, focusing on intimate portraits that capture moments of quiet tension and emotion. Figures appear alone or absorbed in everyday activities, rendered in thick, expressive paint. These works suggest a form of internal redaction, where individuals suppress or compartmentalize their responses in order to continue moving through daily life. Villalba’s compositions balance vulnerability with composure, reflecting the dissonance between private emotion and public normalcy.
Together, the works in Redacted trace a spectrum between external protest and internal processing. The exhibition asks what it means to witness, absorb, and respond to a world in crisis, and how both visibility and concealment operate as strategies for survival.
An Interior in Venice by John Singer Sargent. 26x32.9 in. Smaller than I expected after years of seeing it in books — one of the most beautiful Sargents I know. @deyoungmuseum
Excited to have four paintings at Friends Fair, May 7–9 in Austin, Texas. Presented by Ivester Contemporary alongside Alicia Eggert, Laurie Frick, Sydney Guzman, Candace Hicks, Antonio Lechuga, Anya Molyviatis, Virginia L. Montgomery, Jaylen Pigford, Carlos Ramirez, Hayun Surl, and Maris Van Vlack. @friendsfair.art@ivester_contemporary@emilio_villalba
A review of Wardell McNeal’s Strange / Familiar is now up on Roborant Review, written by Kelly Jean Egan. The show runs through May 14th at the Cañada College Art Gallery in Redwood City. For available work contact PT2 Gallery.
Thank you Kelly for the thoughtful write up. @kellyjeanegan_art
