"The Fleeting Reflection" by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 24x48in, oil on canvas (2016)
Rodríguez at work in his studio.
Julio Cesar Rodríguez describes his work as: “…a mixture of figuration and expressionism with an air of surrealism, where I project my individuality as a creator poetically and philosophically.” Certainly the images call to the viewer’s mind Rene Magritte, even if the impenetrable black hat we find here is a fedora and not the iconic bowler of the famous French surrealist painter.
Drawing on his dreams in the most literal sense, Rodríguez recreates images from the narrative his subconscious weaves at night, wherein the human form occupies space as both object and field. The ubiquitous and benign violation of the body in dreams is brilliantly realized in these paintings, but in terms that are unexpectedly accessible and not so disturbing; flesh becomes wood but is not deconstructed into splinters.
“When I'm painting I feel my mind is opened as a theater stage, and my staging begins to establish itself with its own lights and shadows, colors and strokes; and then going to bed trying to sleep with that huge dark hat is the night. It is in this process where I feel I still perched at that stage…floating in my paintings.”
A detail of one of Rodríguez paintings.
Rodríguez has exhibited internationally and has work in private collections in Cuba, USA, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Belgium, Panama, Argentina, Spain, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, Germany, and Italy. His most recent show was “SLEEPLESS ILLUSION”, was at Revelry Boutique Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky.
You can visit Julio Cesar Rodríguez in his studio on the southeast side of Louisville during OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND, November 5 & 6, 2016. The event benefits scholarship programs for Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute and tickets may be purchased here.
Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 40
Education: 1988-1995 Fine Art Academy in Holguin, Cuba. Graduated in Painting, Drawing and Photograph
Gallery Representative: Revelry Boutique Gallery
“Fading Flesh” by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 48x36in, oil on canvas (2016)
“The Mystifying Face of the Moon” by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 48x36in, oil on canvas (2016)
Are you interested in being on Artebella? Click here to learn more.
Written by Keith Waits. Entire contents copyright © 2016 Louisville Visual Art. All rights reserved.
Please contact josh@louisvillevisualart.org for further information on advertising through Artebella.