Luis Romero: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?
November 2–December 15, 2018

Adams and Ollman is pleased to announce a solo exhibition of new works by Chicago-based artist Luis Romero. Romero’s dynamic constructions are created with torn fragments of painted paper and cardboard methodically layered into organic arrangements of rows and tiers. These rhythmic marks and gestures accumulate into elegant, contemplative objects that reveal and disguise as they create infinite visual possibilities.

Romero’s reliefs highlight the artist’s careful consideration of mark-making, gesture, space, and structure. Implicating the language and ideas of abstraction while simultaneously presenting a reality defined by their materials—paint, paper, cardboard and canvas, the works allow lofty gestures to be in conversation with humble items such as staples, which, in each composition, play a role that is both functional and formal. Existing across the categories of painting, collage, and sculpture, the works also generate spatial and optical illusions, implying interior pathways and architectural channels with systems of dense layers, expressionistic marks and vibrant colors. Despite the clear presence of the artist’s hand, a metaphysical effect emerges amidst invented geometries that seem to expand and contract in poetic vibration.

Luis Romero was born in 1965 in Mexico and raised in Puerto Rico. He currently lives and works in Chicago. He received a MFA in painting and drawing at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in 2001, building upon a degree in philosophy from Boston University. Recently his work has been exhibited in Memoria Presente: An Artistic Journey, National Museum of Mexican Art, Chicago, IL; Present Standard: 25 Latino Artists, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, IL; Rocket Run: Abstraction from Chicago, Nebraska Wesleyan University, Lincoln, NE; Of, To, and From Ray Yoshida, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; and Day Job, Drawing Center, New York, NY (traveled to Albright College, Reading, PA, and Pacific Northwest College of Art, Portland, OR), among others. His work is included in the collections of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, PA; The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA; the US Department of State; and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum, Providence, RI.

installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes? 


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes? 


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes? 


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes? 


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes? 


installation view: Who Says Words With My Mouth? Who Looks Out With My Eyes?


Luis Romero
Ray Yoshida Says Hi, 2017
acrylic, staples, paper and cardboard
20 1/2 x 22 1/2
LRo 190


Luis Romero
Piso que Piensa (Thinking Floor), 2018
acrylic, staples, paper and cardboard
28 x 42 inches
LRo 194


Luis Romero
Tubercular Drawing, 2016
acrylic, staples, paper
19 1/4 x 23 1/2 inches
LRo 189


Luis Romero
Tower With Cat Ears, 2018
acrylic, staples, paper
16 1/2 x 16 3/4
LRo 187


Luis Romero
TFW a Bearded Face Comes Out of a Torso and Just Stares at You, 2018
acrylic, staples, paper and cardboard
25 3/4 x 31 inches
LRo 193


Luis Romero
Untitled, 2018
acrylic, staples, paper and canvas
17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches
LRo 186

Luis Romero
Abstraction with Aperture, 2018
acrylic, staples, paper
24 1/2 x 28 1/4 inches
LRo 192


Luis Romero
Green Monkey Waiting For You, 2017
acrylic, staples, paper and cardboard
22 1/2 x 21 inches
LRo 185


Luis Romero
Bent, 2018
acrylic, staples, paper
25 1/4 x 26 3/4 inches
LRo 191


Luis Romero
Untitled, 2017
acrylic, staples, paper and cardboard
18 1/2 x 21 1/2 inches
LRo 188


Luis Romero
I Want To Be Your Holy Man/Ghost Painting, 2016
acrylic, staples, paper and canvas
22 3/4 x 16 inches
LRo 183