Roger Danilo Carmona
American. Born in Leon, Nicaragua
BFA 2006 School of Visual Arts, NYC, honors graduate
MFA 2010 Bard College, Milton Avery School of Art in Annandale on Hudson, NY
GM Kremer Pigments, New York City, since 2007
Studio located in East Williamsburg, Brooklyn, NY
On the current work
Painting is a thought experiment for me—a way to sort through messy thoughts, transcribe data, and act as a translator. I come from a family of amateur storytellers and comedians, and my painting is influenced by this tradition. It is my way of learning, and a powerful tool for reflecting on memories and discoveries, particularly as a Nicaraguan-American millennial.
These works employ invented visual languages rooted in idiosyncratic sketchbook note-taking, seeking to capture the essence of my subject matter through personal notes and references. By incorporating the “Memory Place” technique used by World Memory Champions, I create visual representations of stories and memories to recall information, using these constructs to depict the language, narrative structure, and vibrant colors in my mind’s eye.
The materiality of each painting is vital to the shaping of its structure and composition. I prepare my paints from scratch, tailoring the techniques to the specific language of each piece. I carefully choose my pigments to convey the attitude and place of each work. Through the interlacing of historical and modern pigments and materials, my work is an open-ended exploration of historical painting processes.
The resulting collection of images tells a narrative of daily struggles with (mis)communication and anxiety (social and otherwise). As an artist, my role in this ordeal feels to me equal parts poet, clown, and scientist. My work invites viewers to playfully perceive form and color as dynamic characters on a stage while coming to their own conclusions about what the show is all about. While I see distinct clarity within the abstraction because the work is mine, there is plenty left unsaid and unclear to allow the viewer to draw their own conclusion. When you engage with my paintings, I encourage you to let your thoughts wander and have a dialogue with yourself about what is going on here.
Artist-in-Registry, White Columns, since 2023
Group Exhibitions:
2023 Chaos and Order, MC Gallery, New York, NY
2023 Intimate Immensity, The Empty Circle, Brooklyn, NY
2020 Drawing 2020, Gladstone Gallery, New York, NY
2018 Manatee , Tiger Strikes Asteroid, Chicago, IL
2017 Ice Storm, The Willows, Brooklyn, NY
2017 Private Practice, Underdonk, Brooklyn, NY
2012 Roger Danilo Carmona and Kenny Rivero, Gallery Fofo, Rahway, NJ
Solo Exhibitions:
2022 Innuendos / Insinuazioni, Galleria Sasamina, Calabria, Italy
2012 Open Source Meme, CS Gallery, Miami, FL
Curated:
2012 Fresh Ingredients, CS Gallery, Miami FL
Highlight Lectures and Panels:
2024 Immaterial, The Metropolitan Museum’s podcast, Guest
2024 Artist materials and frames : how they evolved. A panel discussion with Alexander Katlan, Gerald Kurian, Michael Harding, Roger Carmona, Salmagundi Club, New York, NY
2019 The Perversity of Technique, a conversation with Jarrett Earnest, David Zwirner, in conjunction with the exhibition “The Young and Evil”, New York, NY
2018 Premodern Paint: Postmodern Practice: Encaustic, Egg Tempera, and Casein in the Twenty-First Century at College Art Association Annual Conference, Chicago, IL
Visiting Artist Lecturer:
MICA Hoffberger Painting Graduate School, Baltimore, Maryland, 2019, 2018, 2017
Rhode Island School of Design, Art Conservation Department, Rhode Island, 2021
School of Visual Arts, Painting Department, New York City, 2016, 2017
Golden Gate Atelier, Oakland, California, 2015
Fashion Institute of Technology, Illustration Department, New York City, 2016 - 2023
Artisan Expo, 2016
What do you see in the paintings?
Request a studio visit below.