The Visual Language of Color

Dance of the Light, a painting by Rita Miramontes of dancers whose faces glow in bold reflected color

Dance Of The Light by Rita Miramontes. See the print

Rita Miramontes' exhibit of bold colored oil paintings expresses the celebration of life in the Paradise Garden. At the heart of that celebration is color.

A Language of Symbolic Color

This body of work represents a communication composed of a language of symbolic color. The beginnings of that color symbolism are rooted in Miramontes' Hispanic heritage and belief system. The impressions of color reveal major elements in her work that are hidden, yet at the same time revealed and meant to be understood.

Distinct colors speak in a visual language to the viewer. Many of the original color elements have remained a fixed part of the visual vocabulary of the paintings, so the same colors carry the same meaning from canvas to canvas.

Memory, Travel and Indigenous Roots

The paintings come to life with brilliantly hued and vivid color. Impressions of memories, moments of impact, influences from many travels and Indigenous roots are all represented in the vivid panels. Look at the faces in Dance of the Light, defined entirely by bold reflected color, and you can see how much of the story the color itself is telling.

More in This Series

This article is part of a series on the art of Rita Miramontes.

Explore the paintings in the full collection, or read more about Rita.