“Since time immemorial, humans have sought connections to the supernatural — gods and demigods, devils and angels, cryptids, chimeras, and mythical creatures,” says ceramic artist George Rodriguez. “During ritual dances, Carnaval and festive times, we dress up to commune with the otherworldly — to come close with the creatures that cause or witness our tragedies, mysteries and joy.”
In his upcoming show at Hecho a Mano, the artist pays tribute to the fundamental human need to step out of our ordinary, everyday lives and become something extraordinary. Through vibrant, freestanding sculpture, wall-hanging masks and small drawings, Rodriguez reminds viewers “to make space and celebrate our existence amid any turmoil that surrounds us; to dress up and embody the extremes of human experience and imagination, be it scary, funny or joyous.”
Born and raised in the border city of El Paso, TX, Rodriguez is known for creating intricately ornamented, figurative ceramic sculptures that often connect with the sociopolitical issues and themes of identity, community and culture that the artist explores in his work. He first fell in love with clay while studying graphic design at the University of Texas at El Paso when he realized that the medium doesn’t have to be used exclusively to make functional pottery — it can also be transformed into expressive sculpture, which has the potential to push the boundaries of form and challenge the imagination. From this discovery grew a vibrant artistic practice in which clay is the constant, informing and inspiring his creations with its versatility and capacity to mimic the visual quality of a range of textures like hair, fur, feathers and flowers. His work has a broad color palette and captures the attention with its scale and animation, only to reveal intricate patterns and emotional complexities with a closer look.
Rodriguez’s work is deeply influenced by cultures around the world. In 2009, he was the recipient of a Bonderman Travel Fellowship that allowed him to spend a year traveling the world and expanding his visual imagination. While visiting 26 countries, the artist found inspiration in the culture and visual traditions of each one — from Thailand’s elaborate monsters to Japan’s cherry blossoms, elements of each culture he encountered would become a part of his work. His time spent traveling the globe also prompted Rodriguez to reflect on his own Mexican and American identities, leading him to realize the similarities between his own cultures and those he encountered and inspiring him to synthesize elements of both eastern and western styles in his own work.
Rodriguez’s works are remarkable for their vitality, appearing almost to live and breathe. His figures are abundant with emotion and eloquence, drawing viewers in with their expressive faces and postures. They hold the power of ritualistic emblems paired with the specificity of the individual, creating an atmosphere of mystery and possibility.
In La Vida Carnaval, Rodriguez poses the following question to his audience: “What can we learn from all the creatures, real or imagined, that we choose to embody?” The show invites audiences to experience a menagerie of these real and mythical creatures, celebrating their variety and exercising the human capacity to engage with costume, curiosity and transformation.