Cristiam Ramos works with familiar images and icons, carefully rebuilding them through his choice of materials and attention to detail. Every element carries meaning and history, shaping how the work comes to life. In this interview he talks about how building images fragment by fragment becomes a way of organizing thoughts and emotions, how mistakes can teach more than success, and how materials carry memory and meaning long before the work begins.
1. Cristiam, can you tell us how your journey in art began? What first drew you to creating and reimagining images the way you do?
Cristiam Ramos: My journey in art began from a deep need to express myself beyond conventional boundaries. From a very young age, I felt a natural attraction to transforming the ordinary into something extraordinary. I was always interested in questioning the limits of what is considered a traditional artistic surface and exploring new ways of telling visual stories. Reimagining images, icons, and materials became a way to give voice to my curiosity and my constant desire to create something that did not exist before.
2. Your work transforms familiar images and icons into something entirely new while maintaining incredible detail. How would you describe your artistic approach and vision?
C.R: My artistic approach is rooted in respect for the original image, combined with the courage to elevate it to a new level. I am drawn to recognizable symbols, but I deconstruct them in order to rebuild them through a different emotional and material perspective. Detail is essential to my work, because it is where the truth of the piece lives. My vision is to create artworks that surprise at first glance, but reveal their depth when viewers come closer and discover what they are made of and why.
3. You often reinterpret masterpieces or pop culture imagery. How do you choose the images you want to explore, and what do you hope viewers take away from them?
I choose images that already live within our collective memory — icons that carry strong emotional, historical, or cultural weight. I am interested in engaging in a dialogue with them, not copying them. By reinterpreting these images, I aim for the viewer to encounter something familiar yet see it through new eyes. I hope they take away an experience: a reflection on time, identity, nostalgia, and how symbols can transform without losing their essence.
4. Your choice of materials seems so deliberate and integral to each piece. How do you decide which materials to work with, and in what ways do they shape the way your work comes to life?
Materials are part of the language of the work, not just a vehicle. Denim, for example, represents resistance, history, labor, memory, and time. I do not choose a material solely for its visual qualities, but for what it symbolizes. Each material imposes its own rules and challenges, and that directly influences how the artwork comes to life. For me, the material does not support the idea, the idea is born from the material.
5. Creating art can be deeply personal. Have there been moments when working on a challenging project helped you understand yourself better or process complex emotions?
Yes, absolutely. Many of my projects have been deeply introspective processes. Facing complex pieces has forced me to develop patience, to listen to myself, and to accept my own contradictions. The act of building an image fragment by fragment becomes a way of organizing thoughts and emotions. In that sense, art has been a tool for self-discovery.
6. When a piece doesn’t turn out as you imagined, how do you handle it, and what have those moments taught you about your art and your own creative growth?
I have learned that these moments are an essential part of the creative process. When a piece does not turn out as I expected, I do not see it as failure, but as a conversation with the work itself. It has taught me humility, resilience, and to trust the process more than the initial idea. Very often, the most meaningful decisions emerge from these apparent mistakes.
7. Have you ever experienced moments where creating art felt healing for you, and do you think your work can offer that same sense of healing to others?
Yes, creating art has been healing for me at many stages of my life. There is something deeply therapeutic about transforming materials and emotions into something tangible. I firmly believe that art can also be healing for those who experience it. When someone connects emotionally with a piece, a space of pause and reflection is created, and that is where quiet healing happens.
8. Have you ever started a piece thinking it would be serious, only for it to take a completely unexpected or even humorous turn?
Yes, and I love those moments. Sometimes a piece begins with a very solemn intention, but the creative process itself leads it in a different direction. I believe art must also allow room for play, surprise, and humor. It is a way to keep curiosity alive and avoid becoming confined.
9. Your work has been exhibited internationally and recognized in many contexts. How do you stay true to your creative instincts amid public attention and expectations?
By staying connected to the reason why I started creating in the first place. Exhibitions and recognition are important, but they cannot dictate my process. I always prioritize artistic honesty over trends or external expectations. If a work is authentic, it will find its place and its audience.
10. Looking ahead, are there new themes, techniques, or materials you are excited to experiment with that your audience hasn’t seen yet?
Cristiam Ramos: Yes, I am constantly exploring new possibilities. I am interested in going even deeper into the relationship between material, identity, and memory, as well as experimenting with larger scales and combinations of techniques that I have not yet presented. My creative process is in constant evolution, and I believe the most exciting work is still ahead.
Artgasmic: Thank you, Cristiam, for sharing your insights and allowing us to see the care, patience, and depth behind your work. Your dedication to detail and your ability to reveal the soul of each image remind us why art continues to inspire and move us. You can explore more of Cristiam Ramos’s work here.
