Luis González Palma: Early Work, October 4, 2025 - November 15, 2025

Luis González Palma (b. 1957)

October 4, 2025 - November 15, 2025

Please join KMR Arts as we open our next exhibit, Luis González Palma: Early Work. The exhibition will be on view at KMR Arts from October 4 through November 15, with an opening reception on Saturday, October 4 from 1 to 5 PM. The gallery is open Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays from 11 - 5 and by appointment.

During his early career, Luis González Palma made portraits of Guatemalan people of Mayan or mixed Mayan descent to honor their heritage and bring attention to the discrimination and exclusion they faced. In the process, he gained a greater understanding of his own mestizo ancestry.

González Palma uses Christian iconography as well as social and cultural symbolism to create his own lexicon which alludes to universal themes of life and death, fate, spirituality, and mysticism. Through the poignant gaze of his subjects, especially present in these works, González Palma engages the viewer as he honors Mayan identity and acknowledges the complex social history of Guatemala. He also implies that this is one history of many in which humans trespass against their fellow humans.

Though González Palma photographed with black and white film and printed these images as gelatin silver prints, he used various additional processes and techniques including toning, collage, and painting with bitumen and asphaltum. Some are collaged with red ribbons to symbolize a bloodline; others have pages from biblical texts. Some have handling marks, and sometimes scratches, cuts and folds. The collage and handwork emphasize the physical dimension of each piece. They are not pristine photographic prints that suture us into a specific narrative but rather objects with textures from human touch that engage us as poetic evidence.

Luis González Palma’s primary representative in the United States is JDC Fine Art. His work is included in numerous museum collections internationally and he has three monographs to date.

Please email kathy@kmrarts.com or call 917-856-9050 for more information regarding the event, artworks or to schedule an appointment for installation projects.