Armando Ramos

Armando Ramos works in various media—primarily in clay and wood—the basis of the work lies in the stories of the characters explored and how they act as placeholders for a time that can no longer be attained. His pieces take us back to a time of playfulness and naiveté in our ideas about the world. Ramos uses toys and playful references to speak about complicated social histories and how these histories and ideas engage with the broader world. He utilizes alternative and traditional surface treatments, altering surfaces with glazes, gold leaf, or thread.

Ramos first trained in ceramics at the Kansa City Art Institute, where he did his undergraduate studies. He completed his graduate studies at Montana State University in sculpture before moving to San Francisco, CA, to continue his studio practice. Ramos now lives and works at his studio in Ventura, California, where he serves as the Head of Sculpture and Art Department Chair at Santa Barbara City College.

Ramos is the recipient of grants and fellowships from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, the Frey Foundation, the Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, Montana, the Vermont Studio Center, and the International Ceramic Workshop at California State University of Long Beach. His work has been shown at the Grand Rapids Museum of Art in Grand Rapids, Michigan; the Zanesville Museum of Art in Zanesville, Ohio; the Clay Studio in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; and the Oakland Museum in Oakland, California. His most recent exhibitions include Sur Biennial, Outside In at Los Angeles’s Eastside International in 2019, Law and Order, a private group show in Casitas, CA in 2022, and a museum group show with VC Projects in Santa Monica, CA in 2025.