Scrambled Eggs Interview Series: Abigail Rivera Ramirez
Abigail Rivera Ramirez, A drive thru wedding chapel in Vegas where my parents were married. Originally painted for their 19th anniversary, n.d., Paint on canvas
The Scrambled Eggs Interview Series is a six-part series of interviews with six emerging artists from Las Vegas who recently had solo exhibitions at Scrambled Eggs Gallery. Each artist was interviewed by Emmanuel Muñoz, creator of, and curator at, Scrambled Eggs. This second interview in the series was conducted with Abigail Rivera Ramirez, whose Por Vida was on view from August 7th through August 14th, 2022.
EM: Who is Abigail Rivera Ramirez?
AR: A 20-year-old mixed media artist from Las Vegas, Nevada. Aspiring Nomad.
EM: What is a memory with art that sticks out?
AR: When I was 16 I showed and sold my work for the first time. It was at a local backyard event in East LV. It was cool being surrounded by painters, skaters, and musicians; by artists. All who were just as passionate as me. All who grew up where I did. I had no idea of the talent and power around me until that night. I made 300 dollars and the next day I pulled up to the craft store, bought my first easel, some canvases, and paint. I have been sharing my art since.
EM: What can you tell artists who want to start sharing their own art? Is there something you would have liked to know when you were just starting out?
AR: To just go for it and to always stay true to yourself and your work. When I first started sharing my work on social media there was this pressure to appeal to the audience instead of just doing me. Not everyone has to like your art. I think if you can make one person feel something while sharing a part of you, that is what makes it worth it.
EM: Who are some of your favorite artists?
AR: Currently some of my favorite artists are Michael Alvarez, Sickid, and Brianna Miller.
The artist and her friend Angel displaying her paintings at a backyard show, ‘Mi Cultura Arts Festival’, on July 5th, 2019.
EM: What is special about living in Las Vegas?
AR: I think everything about Vegas is raw and real. There is a lot of loss in this gambler’s town but where there is struggle there is community. Community that has helped me grow in many ways. In the night under neon lights, we get together to dance, to sing, to create and express. Every personality and person I have encountered has been authentic; true to themselves and their experiences here. That is what makes it special to me.
EM: Are there certain themes you are thinking about when making work?
AR: Not really. Sometimes there will be a point I’m trying to make or a personal story I want to show in a work. Other times I just create with no intention or idea. I guess the only theme that I’ve kept consistently through my paintings is Las Vegas.
EM: Is Las Vegas where you plan on staying or do you have ideas of moving to another place?
AR: I would love to move around and experience living everywhere in a converted van or different homes. But at the end of the run I know I will end up back in this city. Vegas is my home and will be my home forever.
EM: You like to blend many different mediums into your work, do you have a favorite?
AR: My favorite medium is watercolor. It’s a very simple medium. I have an anxious mind, so I like that with watercolor I can paint quickly and easily.
Abigail Rivera Ramirez, A Ballpoint and Watercolor Painting (detail), n.d., Ballpoint pen and watercolor on paper
EM: Much of your work depicts women, who are these women and why are they central to your work?
AR: The women and feminine people I paint aren’t ones I know, rather ones I create to express certain ideas. They are central to my work for how empowering they are to me. Women and fem people in my life have always made me feel safe and beautiful despite their struggles and trauma. I try to show that in my work. Overall I believe they are a lot cooler to look at and a lot funner to paint.
EM: Your work visually has callbacks to a 90’s and early 2000’s era of Latino subculture, what draws you to this way of representing your figures and their surroundings?
AR: My dad used to tell me a lot of stories about when he was my age growing up in Los Angeles and living in Las Vegas. He’s told me about the songs he used to bump on a cruise, the break circles he went to in LA, and his experience in the graffiti scene. Despite the rough life my dad lived I think there is a greater sense of realness and community that comes with growing up during a time where there wasn’t much technology, and I see that in the stories he tells. I admire such an ‘in the moment’ time period. I think that shows in my work as well as the community I’ve been surrounded by my entire life. I paint a lot of things/people that feel familiar to me.
EM: Why do you think art is important?
AR: I think art is important because without it the world would be dull and sad. In all forms, art is an outlet giving purpose to many lives. It shows perceptions in a way words cannot. Without it I’d be 6 feet under.
EM: Can you tell us about a new project you are working on?
AR: I am working on the biggest canvas I’ve painted on. The painting will express what it’s like to know a gambling addict and my experience with one during childhood.
EM: What is something great that you’ve seen, read or heard recently?
AR: Cholombianos by Amanda Watkins, a photobook on the urban subculture in Monterrey.
For more about Abigail Rivera Ramirez, follow her on Instagram @gooodnewz and Scrambled Eggs Gallery @scrambledeggsgallery
Scrambled Eggs Gallery is an artist-run gallery and collective based in Las Vegas, Nevada working to spotlight and exhibit up-and-coming artists. Link to the other interviews from the Scrambled Eggs Interview series here.
The artist at Scrambled Eggs Gallery on August 7th 2022.
Posted by D.K. Sole and published by Wendy Kveck on September 10, 2022.