George Gonzalez

Born in Texas, George Gonzalez says about himself, "I'm just a blue-collar artist." The artist is known for painstakingly rendered still-life works - gatherins of peppers, pears, eggs, spoons, feathers, umbrellas, hammers, apples and more. Some objects sit in antique silver bowls; others float in space amid puffy white clouds and azure skies. Gonzalez moves back and forth between traditional relism and mysterious surrealism with ease. His muses are many and disparate, but three from art history best reflect his genre-bending oeuvre. For inspiration Gonzalez looks to the Renaissance master of chiaroscuro, Caravaggio, as well as newer legends like American William Harnett, who skillfully practiced the art of trompe l'oeil (French for "trick the eye"). His is equally at home in the artistic domain of his primary muse, Rene Magritte, the esteemed Belian surrealist. Gonzalez has shown at a number of galleries throughout the United States and Europe.