Ricardo Diseño

Ricardo Diseño’s name isn’t really Ricardo Diseño. Diseño translates to design, and just like he designed his name, Ricardo has designed his art career. Ricardo has focused more on a professional illustrative career than a fine arts career. He’s done drawings for The New Yorker, New York Times and Bloomberg. He’s worked for Bandcamp, made band merch and designed album covers. He’s made posters for countless events. He helped illustrate Magic: The Gathering cards. He has a calendar, a comic book and a Heated Rivalry Parody collab. He’s done so much his work got bootlegged onto shirts by a gas station in Salem. Ricardo discovered these shirts himself and although frustrating, he decided not to say anything and chose to find it endearing.

When tasked with making art for the residency, Ricardo was able to quickly use his skillset to adapt a new practice. Historically, Ricardo’s art work was primarily graphite drawings, but after hearing paintings held more esteem, he cracked open Kevin Sabo’s leftover house paint and got to work. Flower Residency encourages exploration, and Ricardo has definitely explored and pushed his practice during the residency.

A lot of artists’ styles are defined by their imagery. Ricardo could draw or paint anything and you’d immediately know it was his. His favorite movies are Carrie, The Exorcist and Halloween. You can tell. His unique style is heavily influenced by his love for movies, especially horror films. The lens in which he creates work defines his practice giving his work a larger than life feeling like that of cinema. It’s quite serendipitous that his studio show lands on Halloween weekend.

Ricardo Diseño is a multifaceted artist. You can collect his drawings or paintings from this show, but you could also commission a poster for an event, a cover for your new album or a portrait of you and your dog. He really can do it all.

— David Maxwell, Flower Residency Host