Ricardo Gómez Pérez
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Ricardo Gómez Pérez (born 27 May 1952) is a Venezuelan photographer. His work has been presented in galleries throughout the world, including exhibitions in France, Sweden, Japan, Netherlands, Belgium, and the United States. One of his most notable artistic works is "Primeros Pasos" (''First Steps''), which is a series of black and white photographs of his children with slightly out of focus backgrounds. He worked in Europe starting in the early 1970s until he returned to Venezuela in 1987. He currently works with his partner Ricardo Jiménez under the name of ''RICAR-2.'' The duo specializes in corporate portraits and photographs for magazines such as
Global Finance The global financial system is the worldwide framework of legal agreements, institutions, and both formal and informal economic actors that together facilitate international flows of financial capital for purposes of investment and trade finan ...
, BusinessWeek, Voyageur Magazine, Gatopardo, Gerente, Complot Magazine, and Ocean Drive.


Career

Gómez Pérez was born on 27 May 1952 in Caracas, Venezuela. In 1972, he studied gravure, design, serigraphy, and photography at "Taller 4 Rojo" in
Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...
, Colombia. At this time, he bought his first camera, a
Lubitel Lubitel (russian: Любитель, Russian for ''amateur'') refers to any of the several medium format twin-lens reflex cameras manufactured in Russia by LOMO. The design is based on the early 1930s Voigtländer Brillant camera with various imp ...
6x6, and took his first professional photographs, which were later printed in Issue No. 8 of European Photography Magazine. During this period, he also hitchhiked across Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. In 1972, he moved to London and bought a
Nikkormat Nikkormat (Nikomat in Japan) was a brand of cameras produced by the Japanese optics company Nippon Kogaku K. K., as a consumer version of the professional Nikon brand. Nikkormat cameras, produced from 1965 until 1978, were simpler and more affo ...
. There he studied English and continued to work on the techniques he learned in Bogotá. Later, he traveled to Zurich, where he shot his first black and white photographs, a series of empty landscapes filled with snow. In 1974, he worked during the day in a vegetarian restaurant and studied part-time at the
Sir John Cass College of Art London Metropolitan University, commonly known as London Met, is a public research university in London, England. The University of North London (formerly the Polytechnic of North London) and London Guildhall University (formerly the City of ...
in London. There, under the guidance of Mick Williamson, Gómez Pérez began to build a portfolio of photographs taken in Zurich. During a demonstration of Teddy Boys, an Edwardian revivalist subculture, at
Hyde Park Hyde Park may refer to: Places England * Hyde Park, London, a Royal Park in Central London * Hyde Park, Leeds, an inner-city area of north-west Leeds * Hyde Park, Sheffield, district of Sheffield * Hyde Park, in Hyde, Greater Manchester Austra ...
, London, he began to photographically document their community. Those pictures began a portfolio, which he would later, in 1976, present for acceptance to the London College of Printing. Later in 1976, he also worked with
Charles Harbutt Charles Henry Harbutt (July 29, 1935 – June 30, 2015) was an American photographer, a former president of Magnum, and full-time Associate Professor of Photography at Parsons School of Design in New York. Biography Harbutt was born in Camden, N ...
at The Photographer's Place in Derbyshire. In 1977, he continued his earlier research on the Teddy Boys community and began to photograph them all over Great Britain. In 1978, Gómez Pérez made his first trip to Barcelona, Spain to exhibit "Teddy Boys in London", where he met
Joan Fontcuberta Joan Fontcuberta (born 24 February 1955)Joan Fontcuberta - biography.
N ...
. During the same period, he started the series "Encuentros", a series of black and white photographs taken with a Leica CL, which he bought from Paulo Nozolino at London College of Printing. The same year, he met Kim Nygaard, Ricardo Jiménez, and
Manuel Álvarez Bravo Manuel Álvarez Bravo (February 4, 1902 – October 19, 2002) was a Mexican artistic photographer and one of the most important figures in 20th century Latin American photography. He was born and raised in Mexico City. While he took art classes a ...
at
The Photographers' Gallery The Photographers' Gallery was founded in London by Sue Davies opening on 14 January 1971, as the first public gallery in the United Kingdom devoted solely to photography. It is also home to the Deutsche Börse Photography Prize, established in ...
in London.


Independent work

In 1979, Gómez Pérez finished his studies at London College of Printing. During his final exhibit at the college, he met
Brian Griffin H. Brian Griffinas shown in Brian Griffin's House of Payne is a fictional character from the American animated television series ''Family Guy''. An anthropomorphic white labrador retriever voiced by Seth MacFarlane, he is one of the show's mai ...
, who suggested that they begin working together. The pair they went on to do work for several music and rock groups, including
Iggy Pop James Newell Osterberg Jr. (born April 21, 1947), known professionally as Iggy Pop, is an American singer, musician, songwriter and actor. Called the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Godfather of Punk", he was the vocalist and lyricist of ...
, Lene Lovich, Echo and the Bunnymen, Ultravox,
Peter Gabriel Peter Brian Gabriel (born 13 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, record producer, and activist. He rose to fame as the original lead singer of the progressive rock band Genesis. After leaving Genesis in 1975, he launched ...
, and Ian Dury. At this time, Gómez Pérez was also doing freelance photography for London magazines, such as New Society, Campaign, and Management Today. During this period, he met
Andreas Müller-Pohle Andreas Müller-Pohle (born July 19, 1951, in Braunschweig) is a German photographer, media artist and publisher. He is considered an important representative of experimental photography and is the originator of the theory of "Visualism". As a p ...
, who asked him to be a correspondent for European Photography Magazine, and he also met Richard Misrach at the Photographer's Gallery. Until 1982, he worked as a freelance photographer in London, primarily for ''Management Today'', where he was guided by art director Roland Schenk. At this time, he began to take portraits of businessmen and editorials for several London publications. In 1982, after ten years in London, Gómez Pérez moved to Paris. There he met
Graciela Iturbide Graciela Iturbide (born May 16, 1942) is a Mexican photographer. Her work has been exhibited internationally, and is included in many major museum collections such as the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art and The J. Paul Getty Museum. Biograp ...
and
Pedro Meyer Pedro Meyer (born October 6, 1935 in Madrid, Spain) is a Spanish photographer based in Mexico. He is one of the pioneers of the digital revolution in contemporary photography. He was the founder and president of the ''Consejo Mexicano de Fotograf ...
, and all three exhibited together at Studio 666 in Paris as part of a Latin American photography exhibition. Additionally, various solo exhibitions also took him across Europe, throughout Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Sweden, Norway, and Spain. In 1984, with the support of David Balsells and Chantal Grande of Galería Forvm, he moved to Tarragona, Spain. The trio then exhibited throughout Spain. While there, Gómez Pérez was the curator of "Semana International de la Fotografia", in
Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...
, Spain. Subsequently, he traveled to
Lisbon Lisbon (; pt, Lisboa ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 544,851 within its administrative limits in an area of 100.05 km2. Grande Lisboa, Lisbon's urban area extends beyond the city's administr ...
, Portugal where he stayed with his friend Paulo Nozolino. In 1987, he decided to go back to Caracas after 12 years of being abroad, to spend time with his mother.


Return to Caracas

Gómez Pérez obtained a grant from the Venezuelan Culture Ministry to continue his work photographing urban Caracas. After one year and with the aid of a
Pentax 6x7 is a brand name used primarily by the Japanese multinational imaging and electronics company Ricoh for DSLR cameras, lenses, sport optics (including binoculars and rifle scopes), and CCTV optics. The Pentax brand is also used by Hoya Corpora ...
, he had taken thirty landscapes. In 1987 he began work with Ricardo Jimenez as a freelance photographer team, which they named: ''RICAR-2''. Together they worked taking portraits of Venezuelan businessmen, and later started to work for Revista Gerente, thus producing a large portfolio of portraits. In 1992, Gómez Pérez limited edition portfolio, ''Memento'', in collaboration with Andreas Muller-Pohle, Joan Fontcuberta, John Webb, Philippe Scholz-Ritterman, Arno Jansen, and
Bernard Plossu Bernard Plossu (born 1945) is a Vietnam-born French photographer. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Museum of Fine Arts and the Center for Creative Photography, both in Tucson, Arizona. Life and work Plossu ...
, which was dedicated to the memory of a common friend, Derek Bennet. Later that year, Gómez Pérez was invited to Fotofest, a photography fair in Houston, Texas. He was invited to the fair again in 1994, at which he attended The Global Environment exhibit. He later received support from
Polaroid Polaroid may refer to: * Polaroid Corporation, an American company known for its instant film and cameras * Polaroid camera, a brand of instant camera formerly produced by Polaroid Corporation * Polaroid film, instant film, and photographs * Polar ...
to work on a series of black and white photographs, and he later, separately, began a series of nudes and portraits of women. In 1991, Gómez Pérez's first son with his wife, Gisela Viloria, was born and named Mauricio. Two years later, in July 1993, Samuel and Nicolás, his twin sons, were born. In 1994, the new father began a series of photographs. The resulting portfolio was called ''Primeros pasos'' (''First Steps'') and is composed of out of focus, black and white pictures of his sons. In 1994 the first issue of Extra Camera Magazine was published. Gómez Pérez worked as a coordinator of the quarterly magazine between 1994 and 1998. In 1997, Gómez Pérez curated the first exhibition of
Robert Mapplethorpe Robert Michael Mapplethorpe (; November 4, 1946 – March 9, 1989) was an American photographer, best known for his black-and-white photographs. His work featured an array of subjects, including celebrity portraits, male and female nudes, self-p ...
at the ''Museo Alejandro Otero'' in Caracas. In 2001, he was invited by Pedro Meyer to exhibit part of his ''First Steps'' portfolio at ZoneZero. At present, he lives with his family in Caracas, and works as a freelance photographer under the firm RICAR-2 with Ricardo Jiménez. He also continues to work on his personal artwork.


Collections

* Centre National d'Art et de Culture Georges Pompidou, Paris, France * Fotografiska Museet, Stockholm, Sweden. *Museum Nicephore Niépce, France. *
Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg The Museum für Kunst und Gewerbe Hamburg (''Museum of Art and Design Hamburg'') is a museum of fine, applied and decorative arts in Hamburg, Germany. It is located centrally, near the Hauptbahnhof. History The museum was founded in 1874, foll ...
, Germany. *
Bibliothèque nationale de France The Bibliothèque nationale de France (, 'National Library of France'; BnF) is the national library of France, located in Paris on two main sites known respectively as ''Richelieu'' and ''François-Mitterrand''. It is the national repository ...
, Paris, France. * J. Paul Getty Museum, San Francisco, United States. *The Royal Bibliothèque, Copenhagen, Denmark. *Forvn Gallery Collection, Tarragona, Spain.


Awards

*1979: First Prize, Asahi Pentax Award, London, United Kingdom.


Exhibitions


Solo exhibitions

*1976: Swiss Landscapes, Battersea Arts Center, London, United Kingdom. *1978: Teds in London, Galería Process, Barcelona, Spain. *1979: Teds in London, National Poetry Gallery, London, United Kingdom. *1980: Teds in London, Photographer's Gallery, Saskatoon, Canada. *1981: Encuentros, Novun Gallery, Hannover, Germany. *1982: :Encuentros, Galería Forvm, Tarragona, Spain. :Encuentros, Contrast Gallery, London, United Kingdom. :Encuentros, Studio 666, Paris, France. *1983: :Encuentros, Galerie Junod, Lausanne, France. :Encuentros, Camera Obscura Galerie, Stockholm, Suecia. *1984: :Encuentros, Nikon Gallery, Zurich, Switzerland. :Nudes, Centre Culturel de Bretigny, France. :Teddy Boys dans la Cite, FNAC Galleries, France. *1985: Encuentros, Galeria Visor, Valencia, Spain. *1997: Primeros pasos, Tijuana Cultural Center, Fotoseptiembre, Mexico.


Publications

*Curated by Castellote, Alejandro (2004), ''Mapas Abiertos, Fotografía Latinoamericana 1991–2002'', Spain: Lunwerg Editores, *''Nueve Miradas: Bigott en sus 80 años'', Caracas, Venezuela: Fundación Bigott, 2001, *Curated by Bracho, Edmundo (1998), ''Ten Contemporary Venezuelan Photographers: "De-Centering Visions"''. Lehigh University, Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, USA: Du Bois Gallery. *Curated by Gómez Pérez, Ricardo (1997), ''Robert Mapplethorpe Catalog'', Caracas Venezuela: Museo Alejandro Otero. *Auer, Michel; Auer Michele (1997), ''Encyclopédie internationale des photographes des débuts à nos jours'', D-RomNeuchâtel, Switzerland: Éditions Ides et Calendes. *Watriss, Wendy; Baldwin, Fred (1994), ''The Global Environment'', Houston, USA; Fotofest'94. *Müller-Pohle, Andreas (Vol. 13, nr.3, 1992), ''European Photography #51'' Gottigen, Germany. *Borhan, Pierre (1990), ''La photographie a la croisee des chemins'', Paris, France; La Manufacture, *(1990), ''150 Years of Photography'', Stockholm, Sweden; Fotografiska Museet. *Müller-Pohle, Andreas (Vol. 10, nr.4, 1992), ''European Photography #40'' Gottigen, Germany. *Curated by Merewheter, Charles (1987), ''A Marginal Body, The Photographic Image in Latin America'', Sydney, Australia; The Australian Centre for Photography. *(1985), ''Popular Photography: Photography Annual 1985'', New York City; Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. *Auer, Michel; Auer, Michele (1985), ''Photographers Encyclopedia International'', Geneve Switzerland; Camera Obscura, *Kohler, Michael (1985), ''Das Akfoto'', Munich, Germany; Museum fur Kunst *(1985), ''
Art Das Kunstmagazin ''Art – Das Kunstmagazin'' is a monthly art magazine founded by Wolf Uecker and first published by Gruner + Jahr in 1979. Its original editor-in-chief, Axel Hecht, was replaced by Tim Sommer in 2005. The magazine features both new and estab ...
'', Hamburg, Germany; Gruner Und Jahr Ag & Co. *Lemagny, Jean-Claude (1984), ''La photographie creative'', Paris, France; Contrejour, *(1982), ''Floods of Light: Flash Photography 1851–1981'', London, UK; Photographers Gallery, *Naggar, Carole (1982), ''Dictionnaire des Photographes'', Paris, France; Editions du Seuil, *Müller-Pohle, Andreas (Vol. 2, nr.4, 1981), ''European Photography #8'' Gottigen, Germany. *Müller-Pohle, Andreas (Vol. 1, nr.1, 1980), ''European Photography #1'' Gottigen, Germany. *(1979) ''Zoom Magazine #6'', London, UK. *(1979), ''British Journal of Photography Annual'', London, UK.


Notes


References

* * * *


External links


ZoneZero
Photos of ''Primeros Pasos''.
Noorderlicth Photofestival
Photos of Noorderlicth Photofestival 2002. {{DEFAULTSORT:Gomez Perez, Ricardo 1952 births Living people Alumni of the London College of Printing Alumni of London Metropolitan University People from Caracas Mass media in Venezuela Venezuelan photographers