Video for Ruiz’s upcoming solo show in NYC

“How?”,  shows the ability and ease of popular culture to homogenize and trivialize Native traditions and life. Just as Shultz appropriated the “Native American headdress”, I appropriated his dog Snoopy…only coloring him completely black and enlarging his size to larger than life, thus changing his meaning, character, and ability to reach even further into popular culture. Black Snoopy is blacked out, black on black, “murdered out” and in touch with his Indian roots.

Click HERE to purchase HOW?

Super Swamper is aggressive, masculine, and tough, a symbol of ruggedness and American individualism. On the darker side, Super Swamper symbolizes arrogance, entitlement, and blind disregard to environment or ones effects on their surroundings.

An ambitious project involving numerous international contemporary artists and disused Military airplanes is set to make it’s debut on January 28th at the Pima Art and Space Museum in Tucson, Arizona.  Featured Artists – Hector Ruiz, El Mac, Retna, Faile, Shepard Fairey, Richard Prince and many more.  click image for Firestone gallery.

the boneyard project from viejas del mercado on Vimeo.

This piece was inspired by the sadistic tendency of popular culture to take enjoyment in watching their idols (celebrities, pop stars, musicians, etc…) “crash and burn” in their “private” lives. Whether its alcohol, drugs, or poor financial decisions, there seems to be a dark pleasure in watching these idols self destruct. Kill Your Idols depicts a gold bull (idol), pierced by arrows and swords…suffering a slow and painful death for all to see.

This piece was based on the 1000 armed image of the Tibetan God of Compassion, Avalokiteshvara . With its 1000 arms it is able to help so many people, thus embodying great compassion. This piece is quite the contrary. Here, George Bush appears as a multi armed snake. In his hands are an oil well, a WMD van, a briefcase dirty bomb, missiles, a burning tower, and a scantily clad blond holding a T.V. and a 6 pack of beer. Here Bush is the God of War and his many arms are helping him cause more chaos and destruction.

1/1 edition

Click here to watch video

Click here to watch video

Click here to watch video

AP + edition of 3

This bronze was created as a homage to Greek and Roman busts throughout  history. This one is brought up to date with the classic, yet ridiculous, proportions of Barbie.

All City Exhibition

435 Broome Street
SOHO, New York
16 April-22 April 2011
Anhindustries.com

Early American Mound, 2009, block prints, ink, and acrylic on Arches

Untitled, block prints and ink on Arches

Damon Dash opened his DD172 gallery in TriBeca NYC on February 19^th. The place was packed with industry taste-makers from the music, art, and media fields. Dash Gallery presented the works of Isaac Fortoul, Nyssa Frank, Hector Ruiz, and Heather Gargon.  The DD172 space became a collective of artisans coming together under one roof. “If you build it, they will come”. This old adage from the film “Field of Dreams” strikes true as Dash has built an amorphous entity of music, media, and art under an inconspicuous TriBeca NYC roof and on a brisk winter night, the people came.

DD172
172 Duane  Street 
New York, NY 10013
www.dd172newyork.com

19 February-19 March 2010

Check out video for the recap of the event:  HERE

Super Swamper, 2009, Bronze, 36”x 36”x 16”

Barbie Bust , 2009, Bronze w gold electroplating, white marble base

Forced Democracy ,2009, Basswood, burned wood, gold candy wrappers

Paparazzi Spikes, 2009, polished gold electroplated WWII caltrops

Phoenix Art Museum
1625 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
phxart.org

Check out VIDEO HERE

City Life (Progress) Basswood, burned wood, paper mache, tequila, and gouache

The exhibition complements the October 25^th conclusion of the Phoenix Art Museum’s “Locals Only” show, an offshoot of the Traveling “Phantom Sightings” show in which two of Hector & DOSE’s large scale paintings were featured.

Nov 5, 2009 – December 3, 2009

Collaboration
Bentley Projects
215 E. Grant St.
Phoenix, AZ
www.bentleyprojects.com

Adam and Steve, 2009, mixed media on canvas, 11’ x 8’

Liberty, 2009, mixed media on canvas, 3’ x 6’, 4’ x 6’

Legacy, 2009, acrylic, spray paint, block prints on canvas, 11’ x 8’

How ISM Began, 2009, block prints, acrylic, spray paint on canvas, 48” x 60”

This piece is simply a retort to the notion that “clothes make the man”. This sculpture depicts a nice outfit or set of clothes but no man to fill them.

Phoenix Art Museum
1625 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
phxart.org

Chief Sn**py (aka: Black Sn**py) , 2009, Styrofoam, spray hard coat, automobile paint

Super Swamper, 2009, Bronze, 36” x 36”x 16”

Coyote, 2009, (collaboration w/DOSE), mixed media on panel, 4’x 9’

Untitled( Red), 2009, (collaboration w/DOSE), mixed media on canvas, 11’ x30’

The Heard Museum
2301 N. Central Ave., Phoenix, AZ
July 1, 2005- March 2006
www.heard.org

Trophy Wives, 2005, Wood, acrylic, 36”x14”x7.5”

Don’t Blame the Man, 2005, carved, burned wood, pigment, candy foil

Race Mixture, 2004, block prints and ink on paper on canvas

Westernization, 2005, paper mache, acrylic, 15’x6’x5’

M.I.A. (Mexicans in America), 2005, wood, paper mache, gouache, 36”x18”x5”

HEARD MUSEUM
2301 N. Central Ave.
Phoenix, AZ
heard.org
Oct 2007 – April 2008

A.G.O.
317 Dundas St
Toronto, ON
ago.net
Oct 2008 – April 2009

Smithsonian NMAI         
1 Bowling Green
New York, NY
www.nmai.si.edu
May 2008 – Sept 2008

God of War , 2007, wood, paint, paper mache, 183x61x20cm

Vices, 2006, block prints, acrylic, and ink on Arches, 152x102cm

41 Shots(Amadou Diallo), 2007,wood, paint, 112x51x28cm

Exposing the Foundation, 2006, block prints, oil on paper on panel, 198x123x8cm

AP + edition of 3

M.I.A. stands for Mexicans In America. This piece shows some of the paths that Mexicans in America will take. On the left is the dead, the ones that did not make it, either dying crossing the desert or in the hands of “coyotes” or smugglers. The next one is the migrant laborer, the fruit picker, and the field workers. Third is the Latino business man. Fourth is for the large number in jail serving time. Last is the janitor. Under the large hand is a brown head sweating the future and wanting more.

Playing with the abbreviation M.I.A. (Missing In Action) , I was also alluding to the fact and fear that families have when one of their members comes to America, that they won’t ever come back to Mexico. Thus, they are M.I.A.

Bentley Gallery
4161 N. Marshall Way
Phoenix, AZ
www.bentleygallery.com

See What Happens?, 2008, Bronze, black marble, 10”x 8”x 8”

Clothes Don’t Make the Man, 2007, basswood, acrylic, gold candy foil, 14”x 5”x 5”

Idle Mind is the Devil’s Mind, 2007, wood, acrylic, paper mache, 32” x 18” x 12”

Changes, 2007, block prints, ink, acrylic and oil on canvas, 36” x 36”

End of an Era, 2007, block prints and oil on canvas, 36” x 36”

Couples, 2007, block prints, ink and acrylic on Arches, 30” x22”

Chandelier/Candelabra, block prints, ink and cut paper , 40” x60” each

Masters of Deceit, 2007, block print, ink and gesso on paper, 11” x14”

Minority, Majority, 2007, block prints and ink on Arches, 30”x 22”

Snakes in the Grass, 2007, block print and ink on Arches, 22” x 30”

Clown, Klan , 2007, ink and gouache on paper, 4”x 6”each or 10” x 14” framed

Click here to play video

Bentley Gallery and Bentley Projects. November 5th – November 28th, 2009

Laura Taubman – ‘Art News’. December 2008

Hector Ruiz featured in ‘Art in America’. June/July 2006

Laura Taubman for Hector Ruiz: La Realidad (Reality) at the Heard Museum. July 1, 2005 through March 2006

1/1 edition

Tequila Lock Box is designed to safely store the precious contents of one’s Family Reserve Tequila. This piece is entirely fitted together with no glue and no nails. When one pulls the arms, the door swings open revealing the inaccessible bottle of agave nectar. With a series of steps, and a few decisions….one gains access to the tequila (but at what cost?). Hint: enough pieces have to be removed that the whole piece will collapse in ruins.

Watch video HERE

Don’t Blame the Man is about not blaming someone for your situation, but it is also acknowledging that sometimes situations are complex, so its saying don’t blame the man, but sometimes it’s the conditions that lead to his undoing. It is both.

Amadou Diallo was an immigrant who was shot 19 times by four New York police officers. The police thought Amadou met the description of a crime that had been committed. The police chased the confused man to his porch, where he reached in his jacket and pulled out his wallet. Thinking he had reached for a gun, the police shot 41 bullets at him, 19 of which hit and killed Amadou. In this sculpture, the base comes apart and it becomes an interactive piece. As you lay the figure on the ground, you set the gun down pointing toward the figure and clap the two white pieces together making a “gun like” sound. If you can get to 41 shots it will be loud, arduous, and the noise and chaos that ensues is quite disturbing.