Ivester Contemporary is pleased to present Redacted, a two-person exhibition of new work by Emilio Villalba and Carlos Ramirez, co-curated by Matt Diehl. The exhibition opens May 23, and brings together two distinct yet deeply connected artistic responses to the emotional and political realities of the present moment.
 

Redacted considers how contemporary life is shaped by constant exposure to social and political instability through media saturation. While both artists engage with current events, they do so through distinct visual languages.
 

Ramirez confronts these conditions directly. His works incorporate politically charged imagery and text, including references to immigration enforcement, protest language, and censorship. Motifs such as black redaction bars obscure the eyes of his figures, evoking both surveillance and erasure. Drawing from a visual vocabulary rooted in Chicano cultural histories, revolutionary posters, sign painting, and graffiti, Ramirez creates layered compositions that are grounded in lived experience. 

In contrast, Villalba turns inward. His paintings explore the psychological weight of existing within this climate, focusing on intimate portraits that capture moments of quiet tension and emotion. Figures appear alone or absorbed in everyday activities, rendered in thick, expressive paint. These works suggest a form of internal redaction, where individuals suppress or compartmentalize their responses in order to continue moving through daily life. Villalba’s compositions balance vulnerability with composure, reflecting the dissonance between private emotion and public normalcy.
 

Together, the works in Redacted trace a spectrum between external protest and internal processing. The exhibition asks what it means to witness, absorb, and respond to a world in crisis, and how both visibility and concealment operate as strategies for survival.

EMILIO VILLALBA 

Two Figs, 2026 

Acrylic on paper, maple frame

39.5 x 51.5 in (44.75 x 56.75 in framed)

$13,600

CARLOS RAMIREZ

Boot Polish, 2026

Acrylic on canvas

48 x 60 in

$10,000

EMILIO VILLALBA 

The Office 2, 2026 

Acrylic on paper, maple frame

60 x 51.5 in(65.25 x 56.25 in framed)

$18,000

CARLOS RAMIREZ

El Paraiso, 2026

Mixed media on wood

16 x 48 x 3 in

$4,600