Dan Ramirez

"Certainty & Doubt," paintings, 10/13-1/7.

October 12: 5:30–6:30 p.m. A Brief History Of Abstract Painting: Part 1 (Nuances of Gesture - Some Humble Observations on the Paintings of Dan Ramirez). Lecture by Derrick Buisch, Professor of Art, UW–Madison. Chazen auditorium. 6:30–8 p.m.: Reception: refreshments, live music, cash bar. Mead Witter Lobby.

• November 2,  5:30–6:30 p.m.: Dan Ramirez and Richard Shiff: A Conversation. Art historian Richard Shiff and artist Dan Ramirez engage in a public discussion about Ramirez’s work. Richard Shiff is Effie Marie Cain Regents Chair in Art at the University of Texas at Austin, where he directs the Center for the Study of Modernism. Chazen auditorium.

• November 9, 5:30–6:30 p.m.: Dan Ramirez: Brush Music. Artist and writer Buzz Spector will discuss Dan Ramirez’s longterm interest in music as an expressive parallel to his studio practice, focusing on the compositions of Olivier Messiaen. Spector is an artist, writer, and Professor of Art in the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. Spector and Ramirez were classmates in the University of Chicago MFA program in the mid-1970s. Elvehjem building L160.

• December 7, 7–8 p.m.: Bridge Poetry Series. Local poets will read poems inspired by Certainty and Doubt: Paintings by Dan Ramirez. Rowland Gallery.

press release: Drawn from Madison and Midwestern collections, this exhibition highlights the artistic vision of Chicago-based artist Dan Ramirez. For over forty years Ramirez has employed a consistent visual language to explore abstraction, religion, music, and play in paintings, prints, drawings, and digital media.

Adapting the language of minimalism with a late twentieth century experience, Ramirez’ work is both personal and multifaceted. Featuring recent work along with paintings from his early print portfolio, Twenty Contemplations on the Infant Jesus: An Homage to Olivier Messiaen, the artist delves into the spiritual, but also considers the relationship between the act of making music and the making of art. He plays with materials and perception in a process that is deeply intellectual, creating work that is precise and arresting. Originally from Chicago, Ramirez is a Professor Emeritus of the UW-Madison.