Is Blue the Color of the Ocean?

Symbolism, Story, and Space

Is Blue the Color of the Ocean? is more than a sculpture — it’s a conversation in form. The upright ring of metallic coconuts and a singular gold conch shell reflects themes of movement, transformation, and shared cultural experience. It references the street vendors and necklace stalls common across Caribbean islands, which, in Ramirez’s vision, act as symbolic portals — moving people between languages, histories, and realities.

Inspired by his Dominican roots and Miami’s cultural intersections, Ramirez uses this piece to explore the dissonance and beauty of migration. The sculpture challenges viewers to consider their own position: what does it mean to cross from one space — one identity — into another? For many immigrants, the arrival to Miami is a portal itself: a place of memory, adaptation, and rediscovery.

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Meet the Artist: Bony Ramirez

Born in Tenares, Dominican Republic and now based in New Jersey, Bony Ramirez is known for his richly symbolic work combining Caribbean iconography with Renaissance style. His practice blends drawing, painting, and sculpture to question legacy, body, and culture in post-colonial contexts.

Ramirez’s visual language includes distorted figures, tropical references, and reinterpreted classical motifs. He often incorporates Afro-Caribbean elements like plantains or folkloric symbols as tools of reclamation. His work has been featured in leading exhibitions in New York, Los Angeles, and Miami, and is part of several museum collections including the Pérez Art Museum Miami and the ICA Miami.

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Project Support

This work was made possible through generous support from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and Niantic Labs.