ARTIST PROFILE
RAYMUNDO T. REYNOSO
ARTISTS STATEMENT
My Ponte las Pilas installation is at its core an exploration of language and its power, both in my mother tongue (Spanish) and my adopted language (English.) Literally meaning (roughly) “Put in your batteries.” It is an oft-repeated phrase in Spanish intended to offer a quick encouraging course of action to address an issue being faced. It is a phrase that in English is not quite “pull yourself up by the bootstraps,” “keep your chin up,” “try hard(er),” or in the parlance of marketing and advertising, “just do it,” but nevertheless, it intends something similar.
The installation is comprised of multiple elements. It combines works from my Imaginary Found Objects series (an ongoing project that incorporates musings on imagined signage based on words, phrases, and typography inspired by vernacular graphics from my city of birth (CDMX) and the city I call home (Los Angeles); works from my Means of Production series, centering instances of the existence and resilience of working class folx in marginalized and working class communities, primarily in L.A. and incorporating the commonalities that tie us with other people across the global south and the world at large
Ponte Las Pilas
Acrylic, spray paint, toner, collage on
wood and OSB (dyptich) 2022-2023.
48 x 55 in.
Joy Divided
Joy Divided is a reflection on the effects the separation of families by immigration enforcement is having on our city.
Acrylic, spray paint, tape on OSB. 2025
19 x 40 in.
Como Esperando Abril
Como Esperando Abril, named after a Silvio Rodríguez song, is part of a series that focuses on the hands of women I hold dear. In this case, my partner whose middle name is April holding flowers.
Screenprint on drywall. 2025
23.75 x 23.75 in.
Squeegee
Squeegee is my trusty tool for screenprinting, with a faded tag of my graffiti handle showing through the fingerprints and ink stains. I consider this a self-portrait.
Acrylic, ink on squeegee. 2020-2025.
18.75 x 6 in.
Dancing (With Tears in My Eyes)
Dancing (With Tears in My Eyes) uses the phrase popularized The Cure song “Boys Don’t Cry" and reflection on the power of words, toxic masculinity, and cliché gender roles pervasive in a multitude of societies.
Acrylic, screenprint, collage on wood, 2025
22.25 x 17.5 in.
Recortes
Recortes is a portrait of a worker in CDMX transporting a barrel.
Acrylic, toner on wood, 2020
12 x 22 in.
Tired
Tired is a phrase that I use in my work to encapsulate a myriad of emotions and physical states. It is auto-biographical and (at times) a self-portrait.
Acrylic on tire. 2022.
24 x 24 in.
Ahí Va El Golpe (El Diablito)
Ahí Va El Golpe (El Diablito) is a portrait of a worker pushing a dolly. “Diablito" means "Little Devil" and “Ahí Va El Golpe” means “There goes the blow,” a phrase intended to as a caution to those in its way to move out of the way.
Acrylic, spray paint, toner on wood. 2022.
36 x 24 in.
Change (Is Gonna Come)
Change (Is Gonna Come) takes its title from the Sam Cooke song. The C is rendered as a cent symbol, implying multiple interpretations, from a societal change that is going to come to change as in coins given or asked for.
Screenprint on drywall, 2024
22 x 40 in
Elotes Y Chicharrones
Elotes y Chicharrones is a portrait of a street vendor and a customer in North East L.A., where I live. I had an aunt that sold elotes outside our local bakery in our CDMX neighborhood, and this piece is in honor of her and her labor. It explores the common lived experiences of working class folx, as this is a scene I could have captured in many parts of the world.
Acrylic, screenprint, spray paint, branches on OSB, 2025
22 x 40 in.
Riot Shield
Riot Shield is a piece of OSB I sourced from a window that was boarded up in anticipation of possible “riots” during a Black Lives Matter march.
Acrylic on OSB, 2020
23.75 x 12 in.
RAYMUNDO T. REYNOSO
"I was born in Mexico City and moved to Los Angeles when I was six years old. Drawing from my lived experiences as a BIPOC immigrant, my work focuses thematically on intersectional issues such as labor injustice, wealth inequality, lack of affordable housing, discrimination, and mental health.
My art is interdisciplinary and incorporates painting, printmaking, digital imaging, photography, lettering, and collage. I aim to center the unseen people of Los Angeles, echoing Dr. Cornel West's interpretation of Sly & the Family Stone's seminal song "Everyday People,” by amplifying narratives that lift up the contributions of communities of color and the importance of labor and the working class in building a more equitable society.
I adhere to the words of Doña Fili, Water Defender in Mexico City. In the film about revolutionary artist and musician León Chávez Teixeiro “Mujer. Se Va La Vida, Compañera," Doña Fili emphasizes that art plays a vital role in advocating for human rights in marginalized communities and says: "Art speaks to the People and lets us know we are seen."
Desde abajo y a la izquierda.
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