We were lucky to catch up with Raymond Argumedo recently and have shared our conversation below.
Alright, Raymond thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Do you think your parents have had a meaningful impact on you and your journey?
Growing up in my household
My parents are both immigrants from Mexico and always told my siblings I that we needed to be someone in this life And that they didn’t come to the US to have bum kids lol
My parents were opposite from one another but both played a crucial role in my art journey. My father was really strict and stern and my mother was forgiving and loving.
Both were extremely supportive in my love for art and anything else I wanted to do as long as I really tried.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
I am a visual artist from Riverside ca
The artwork I produce is inspired by the Art Nouveau/Art deco era of art and I’m also influenced by Mesoamerican Mythology/ancient cultures(Aliens!)
I started out my art career doing pop ups at the local “Arts Walk” back in 2007 when I was 17 and a lot of my early influences came from a magazine called “Juxtapoz” that i came across at A Barnes and Noble. I quickly fell in love with the “lowbrow” “pop surrealism” style of art.
In 2016 I enrolled into RCC(Riverside Community college) to begin my journey in Graphic Design. After spending a few years there I started designing logos taking online classes on “Skill Share”.
I started painting again in 2018/2019
And begin doing pop ups and eventually getting a booth at a convention called “Designer Con” where I would would met a lot of my favorite artist that I’ve admired and learn more about the art world I loved so much..
My world would completely change in 2021 when the opportunity to open my own
Art gallery happened.
I had zero experience on how a gallery operates or how to even run a Brick-and-Mortar but on July 11 2021 my wife and I
had a grand opening for
“Gramercy Art Gallery” a lowbrow/New Contemporary gallery that we operated in Riverside CA
I would quickly push the gallery name at every gallery opening I would attend in LA or out of state people would eventually call me “The gallery guy” or just “Gramercy” and when all that begin is when I started to realize we were really making a name for ourselves.
One year into opening the Gramercy Gallery we had another opportunity to open a second business a few shops over from the gallery. My wife came up with an idea to open up some private art studios for creatives to have access to 24/7
I’m a huge fan of the show “MadMen” and the whole Mid century modern aesthetic soo on June 7th 2022 we opened up “Composure Art studios” and we we had a whole lot of renovations to make.
Gramercy gallery started becoming a brand and our exclusive in-store apparel become our best selling items. The art community would always show up for our gallery openings and support was extremely strong but unfortunately we would close our doors to both our business a year later in the summer of 2023.
We had communication issues with the landlord and we felt it would be best if we just packed up and closing was such an unrealistic feeling because I felt like those business were my identity, I gave everything to try to bring up the art community in that area of Riverside but unfortunately the relationship with the landlord was torn.
Life after the business has been amazing as well. I am a father to 3 amazing children and I’ve become a full time freelance artist. I’ve been lucky enough to establish great relationships with other creatives in my field who have offered me gigs and participate in a gallery show when the opportunity arises.
This year I’ve kinda taken a step back and have really enjoyed hanging out with my family n friends.
Gramercy gallery is currently an online gallery. We collab with artist still and produce exclusive merch through the online shop.
I will be participating at this years Designer Con November 15 in Las Vegas so I’m looking forward to that. November 15 also happens to be my 35th birthday! So it should be a great one.
Life is beautiful even when it’s not.
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
I truly love being artist
I’m blown away by the support I’ve received in my career so far. My friends and family know I’ve been doing this all my life but it feels like I’m just getting started.
It’s an amazing feeling when galleries reach out to you for group shows or when a company wants a commission.
I’m grateful for it all.
I still get imposter syndrome when I hangout with artist that I’ve looked up to and now I get to call them friends because of my relentless attitude to be someone important in this art world.
As an artist who does murals, it’s always awesome being able to see my last name on the walls that I’ve painted. I know I’ve made my parents proud.
What do you think is the goal or mission that drives your creative journey?
My goal is to travel the world doing what I love with the people I love. I would like to be an example for my kids, and show them that you can always follow your dreams regardless of what life throws at you.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://gramercyartgallery.com/
- Instagram: Raymond Argumedo
