Austin-based artist Felipe Gomez has made a name for himself over the past several years with his large-scale, multi-layered wood carvings, bright and bold colors, and a geometric yet natural style. Now, Gomez is moving into new territory with bold metalwork and huge installations.
Of course, he didn’t start his art journey with such complicated designs. For Gomez, it all started in his home city of Bogotá, Colombia, where his brother would take him through the city’s streets, pointing out street art, getting him into shows, cinemas and performances. “He was always pushing culture on me,” says Gomez.
Around the age of 10, Gomez and his family moved to the U.S. Like many artists, he spent his time in class drawing and dreaming; in high school, he discovered ceramics—something he’d come back to years later. After several years in Houston, traveling around the U.S., and a stint in Europe, Gomez made his way to Austin, where he has lived for about 14 years.
Discovering his style
It was at nearby Texas State University that Gomez earned his degree in Digital Media Innovation and found his art taking an entirely new direction. He already had some experience with graphic design, but at university he got an internship at a screen printing shop. Around the same time, he discovered a nearby makerspace.
“The guy in the makerspace was explaining all of the tools to me, and I was like, wait. I’ve been teaching myself vectors for two years, and you’re telling me I can just push in my drawings, etch them and cut them out of things?” Gomez laughs. “So that’s kind of when the wood art started.”
For those who aren’t familiar, Gomez’s “signature” wood art is gorgeous. The pieces are often large-scale, intricately cut 2-D wood sculptures, with layers upon layers of details. They’re natural shades of brown; they look like something birthed from an acid trip in the forest, filled in with mandalas and sacred geometry.
And though the pieces are beautiful, and though most people know Gomez through these wood sculptures, these days, he’s moving into new territory.
“Most people do know me from the wood,” he says. “And it’s always going to be a part of me. But I’m actually happiest when I’m painting; the feeling of brush to canvas really satisfies me.”
A shift toward painting and steel works
About seven months ago, Gomez and a few friends took over an old tattoo shop on East Fourth Street and founded Red Line Studios. In this little house-turned-tattoo-shop-turned-art-studio, Gomez now spends his days mixing his woodwork with his love for painting.
“This is a completely new exploration and medium,” he says. “I’m doing a lot of painting, combining canvas with wood works, and at the same time now I’m diving into steel fabrication.”
“As a human, I think we all go through changes as we continue to develop. Our tastes change, the things we like change… I’m at a point where I want to see how I can push myself further and continue developing as an artist and a person.”
Upcoming major projects
And it seems Gomez is truly pushing himself. In the next few months alone, he has two massive projects to complete: One is a multi-day sculpture show for Latino artists at Canopy Projects Gallery, and the other, a public art project for the City of Austin and Art in Public Places (AIPP).
The former project is the result of Gomez recently winning an Elevate Grant, and with the funds he received, he’s hosting a “sculpture only art show” for upcoming Latino artists. The event will consist of a VIP dinner with Chef Edgar Rico from Nixta, various interior designers, architects, landscape artists, curators, gallery owners and more so that Gomez can connect Latino artists with “the people that may push their careers forward.” A select number of public tickets will be raffled off for this VIP dinner.
Aside from Gomez, the artists featured will be Gabriel Portillo and Erik Ross, neither of whom is traditionally a sculptural artist, but for this particular show, Gomez is hoping to “push them more toward public art and sculpture.”
The public opening for this show will be from May 9 through 13 at Canopy Projects Gallery.
Creating art to heal
The second project with AIPP and the City of Austin– well, this is the one that means the most to Gomez. Through the City of Austin, he’s fabricating three giant steel sculptures for a women’s and children’s violence center.
“To come up with these designs, I put together three workshops to really understand (the women and children) as humans, what they are looking for in art, and also what sort of things are triggering for them.”
Over the course of several workshops, Gomez guided groups from the center through poetry exercises, a painting workshop and journaling prompts.
“They said it was really beautiful for them to go through the process of poetry, painting and journaling to think about their trauma in a different way,” Gomez says.
With their stories, their words and their art in mind, Gomez has designed these trauma-informed sculptures in the hopes of bringing them just a little more peace.
“Art is healing,” he says.
These large-scale sculptures will be fabricated in May and installed in July.
Gomez’s plans and ambitions
Plans don’t stop there for this ambitious artist. When asked what Gomez wants for his life and career in the next five years, Gomez says he wants to lean into working with interior designers and architects—something he’s been exploring with a new side project called Dyad. Dyad is a co-creation between Gomez and interior designer Chad Palmatier.
He also wants to keep pushing himself in the studio to work with new and exciting materials, continue selling his works with the support of social marketplace Cohart, make bigger and better public art pieces, and garner enough success to help himself and his friends.
“High tides raise all boats,” he says. “If one of us is doing well, we’re all doing well. We’re all coming up together.”
“I’m constantly trying to put myself in spaces where I can be of impact and share my success with the people around me.”
As for staying in Austin?
“I can see the impact that New York City or Mexico City could have on my career,” Gomez says. “But I’m not thinking about leaving anytime soon.” To learn more about Felipe Gomez, visit felipegomez.art or follow him on Instagram.
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