{"id":157,"date":"2017-02-14T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2017-02-14T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/14\/almudena-rodriguez-complex-contradictions\/"},"modified":"2021-02-18T17:30:21","modified_gmt":"2021-02-18T17:30:21","slug":"almudena-rodriguez-complex-contradictions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pagodared.com\/blog\/2017\/02\/14\/almudena-rodriguez-complex-contradictions\/","title":{"rendered":"Almudena Rodriguez: When Craft & Culture Meet"},"content":{"rendered":"
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On view from September\u00a05 through October 31, 2017, the work of Almudena Rodriguez is a clear-sighted\u00a0look at our current time and place. It\u2019s also a celebration of craft and mixed media. Having lived in Spain, Mexico and the United States, Rodriguez shares our fascination with the cross-cultural pollination of ideas and materials. In particular, she points to\u00a0Mexico\u2019s \u201ccomplexity and contradictions\u201d as \u201can endless source of stimuli.\u201d In her paintings, comics, religious iconography, and\u00a0mass media populate \u201ca world in which self-perception is determined by movies and publicity.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\"almu-estudio\"<\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez in her Studio<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

All these works are part of the series of paintings in which I analyze what is known as the \u201cPygmalion Effect,\u201d applied in this case to the narrative of the artistic work. How we can influence or determine the viewer\u2019s perception through art? Is that\u00a0really possible? I\u2019m interested in this subject because it\u2019s based on ambiguity. My work proposes both positive and negative results in its application.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect XVII <\/em>| 2015 | Acrylic on hand sewn fabrics | 42\u2033 x 50\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In the\u00a0\u201cPygmalion Effect,\u201d Rodriguez\u00a0explores the popular psychological idea that greater expectations lead to better performance, questioning how an artist can influence the viewer\u2019s perception. In\u00a0mixed media on fabric, the paintings layer images and messages ranging from comic-book heroes\u00a0to abstract splashes and splatters, asking the viewer to stretch their understanding of style, meaning and perception.<\/p>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect XVIII. Sexual reproduction by fragmentation in plants |\u00a0<\/em>2016 | Acrylic and wool embroidered on hand-sewn fabrics | 50.3\u2033 x 70.8\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Characters from comics, as those from mythology of the past, are our idols of today\u2014references of our time. My characters find themselves in a world in which self-perception is determined by movies and publicity, as hidden economic interests, instead of being determined by art or thinking. From an attitude of irony, sarcasm and jeer, my intention is to reflect\u00a0on this absurdity.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect IV <\/em>| 2014 | Acrylic, aniline, ink, watercolor, embroidery on amate paper | 15.5\u2033 x 23.5\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

At times, Rodriguez\u2019s visual vocabulary reaches beyond pop culture references into classical Italian art history. Her work often references\u00a017th-century Baroque painter Artemisia Gentileschi, as well as Renaissance drawings. By exploring the history of pictorial language, Rodriguez links modernity to tradition.<\/p>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect VI <\/em>| 2014 | Acrylic, aniline, ink, watercolor, enamel and embroidery on amate paper | 15.5\u2033 x 23.5\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Works on paper\u00a0combine acrylic, aniline, ink, watercolor, enamel and embroidered thread on amate paper. Made from tree bark, amate paper is thousands of years old, and\u00a0was once used by indigenous cultures in Mesoamerica to\u00a0create early handwritten books.<\/p>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect V <\/em>| 2014 Acrylic, aniline, ink and watercolor on amate paper | 15.5\u2033 x 23.5\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

A master of mixed\u00a0media, Rodriguez works with multiple fabrics, paints and papers, using different surfaces to layer\u00a0images and patterns, from comic illustrations to military camouflage.<\/p>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect XIX <\/em>| 2016 Acrylic on hand-sewn fabrics | 55\u2033 x 78\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

In my paintings the canvas and the white cloth disappear. Materials are sewn together\u2014artificially forming a kind of map on which I re-arrange what I have experienced and observed: my own vision. The delicacy of the fabrics is an important part of the work. They have different tactile qualities, and that\u2019s\u00a0the initial way I\u00a0conceive the piece.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect XX <\/em>| 2016 Acrylic on hand-sewn fabrics |\u00a0<\/em>55\u2033 x 70\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

Material inspiration for much of the work\u00a0dates back to 2001 to 2004, when Rodriguez\u00a0lived and spent time in Mexico.<\/p>\n

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\"Almudena<\/a><\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez |\u00a0Pygmalion Effect XXII <\/em>| 2017 | Acrylic, aniline, ink, watercolor, enamel and embroidery on paper | 15.5\u2033 x 23.5\u2033<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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From a visual point of view, Mexico is an endless source of stimuli. It has enriched my iconography and my interest in searching for syncretism with my European references. Contact with Mexican\u00a0Ex-Votos<\/em>\u00a0(religious offerings) originally led me to introduce texts into the works.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

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\"process\"<\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez Working in her Studio<\/p>\n

To see the richly layered work of Almudena Rodriguez, we invite you to visit the PAGODA RED gallery\u00a0in-person or online.<\/p>\n

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Shop Art by Almudena Rodriguez<\/a><\/h2>\n

 <\/p>\n

Almudena Rodriguez<\/h2>\n

b. 1969, Madrid, Spain<\/p>\n

EDUCATION<\/strong>
\nBachelor of Fine Arts, Universidad Complutense de Madrid<\/p>\n

SELECT EXHIBITIONS<\/strong><\/p>\n

2017<\/strong><\/p>\n