Johnny Ramirez is from Laredo Texas. He grew up on both sides of the border. His mother and both grandparents lived in Nuevo Laredo. As a child, he traveled all over Mexico with his grandfather who sold American merchandise to clients in the interior. He visited many churches and cathedrals; his family was pious and Catholic. Laredo is a bi-cultural environment. When he graduated high school he moved to Austin and was influenced by a wide variety of cultural traditions. He graduated from UT Austin in 1995 with a Bachelor of Arts in Latin American Studies, a Political Science of Latin America degree, and also studied Spanish Literature. After college, he stayed in Austin and worked in the arts, television, and the entertainment industries. Throughout the years he has continued his work with tile and glass mosaics. You may recognize his name from the show Indie Live Austin, a television show about the “Live Music Capital of the World” and what “keeps Austin weird.” They cover live music from the venue, local weird art, cultural events, and Austintatious locations. His current art medium is recycled, re-used, materials. They are created using any material that is translucent. Johnny uses windows as as palettes and paints with strokes of broken glass & plastic.
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