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O.N.S Resident Artist: Featuring Tess Ramirez

We’re excited to introduce Tess Ramirez, our second O.N.S Resident Artist at 201 Mulberry. She is a New York-based artist with a great eye for art. We’ve collaborated with her on putting together an in-store exhibition at our Nolita flagship store.

Tess Ramirez is a New York City-born and based artist and designer. She started My Father’s Daughter Designs in early 2020 as a way to honor her late father–an exhibition designer and graphic artist who passed away from Alzheimer’s; a progressive, neurodegenerative disease that strips victims of their memories and autonomy.  Using found objects as gateways to evoke and nurture remembrance, Tess’s carefully curated illustrations will remind you of a person, a place, a distinct experience, or time in your life. The O.N.S team sat down with Tess to get to know a little more about her and her work.

How long have you lived in the city?

I grew up in Westchester about 30 minutes outside of the city. Both of my parents worked in Manhattan, and my Grandmother also lived here – so most of my weekends were spent at her apartment. My Mom eventually moved into the city when I went to college, and I moved back after graduation. 

How do you describe your creative process? What inspires you?

I’m very interested in the power of memory – specifically where subjective, personal experience meets collective nostalgia. My Dad was an artist and exhibition designer before he was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease. As an adolescent caretaker of someone who was actively losing memory, I grew very attached to certain objects, places, tangible things as a conduits for episodic memory (a collection of seashells from a beach near my Grandmothers house, a particular brand of hot sauce my Dad used on eggs every Sunday morning…). I’m inspired by what people collect and why; the secret lives and stories of items that might otherwise seem mundane. All of my work is driven by nostalgia. 

Why did you start the hotel series? What makes hotels so interesting to you?

 When I was little, my parents moved us abroad while they both worked on special exhibitions around Europe. To keep me entertained (and quiet) as I tagged along on museum visits, they would stash extra sheets of hotel stationery and jotter pads in a bag. If they sensed I was getting restless, they would present me with a piece of paper and pen, and ask me to draw something. These sketches became postcard-esque – perfectly preserving the location and time when they were created. As an adult traveling on my own, I gravitated towards the same practice – pocketing complimentary notepads and sheets of paper that I could use to draw on throughout my trip. 
During the height of the pandemic when many beloved restaurants and hotels were closing, I was really inspired by the outpouring of love and sense of pride New Yorkers had for their favorite local spots. There seemed to be a collective return to/yearning for the “tried and true” classic institutions that survived generation after generation – becoming fixtures in the collective history of this city. I started consolidating hotel stationery from the classic pre-war hotels of the city and sketching on them like I did as a little kid, focusing on scenes that would be recognizable to anyone…yet might mean something entirely different from one person to the next. 


Where is your favorite place your art has taken you?

Back home! I know it’s cliche, but I was reacquainted with my artistic practice at a time in my life when I felt really lost both personally and professionally. The more I explored creatively, the more confident I began to feel about who I am and who I want to be. Maybe one day, my art will take me somewhere exotic…but for now, I am happy with where I am.

Favorite restaurant in the city?

Impossible question!!!!!! Bar Pitti will always be my go-to. 

RSVP TO OPENING NIGHT HERE

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