Tus manos están bien by Dagoberto Rodríguez in Ivorypress
21/07/2019.
Ivorypress [MAD] Spain 17.09 > 26.10.2019
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
metalocus, INÉS LALUETA
Ivorypress presents the first solo exhibition in Spain by Cuban artist Dagoberto Rodríguez, Tus manos están bien / Your hands are fine.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public from September 17 to October 26, includes a series of works that deal with the value of the written word and its narrative and lyrical importance, entering into the exploration of language and rhetoric through three seemingly unrelated political-cultural phenomena.
The exhibition, which will be open to the public from September 17 to October 26, includes a series of works that deal with the value of the written word and its narrative and lyrical importance, entering into the exploration of language and rhetoric through three seemingly unrelated political-cultural phenomena.
Venceremos Pontiac, by Dagoberto Rodríguez, 2018. Image courtesy of Ivorypress
Patria vs muerte, by Dagoberto Rodríguez, 2018. Image courtesy of Ivorypress
Emblema ruso, by Dagoberto Rodríguez, 2018. Image courtesy of Ivorypress
La injusticia tiembla, by Dagoberto Rodríguez, 2018. Image courtesy of Ivorypress
Tweet, by Dagoberto Rodríguez, 2018. Image courtesy of Ivorypress
Tweet detail, by Dagoberto Rodríguez, 2018. Image courtesy of Ivorypress
A video broadcast by fighters of the war in Syria via Twitter showed an overwhelming and extreme act of faith. The dialogue, maintained between two missile operators, picks up the moment when one of them has just lost both his hands. Its psalmodic structure reminds us of a Qur'anic verse. The artist captures this moment in a mural mosaic made by hand using the technique of Arabic azulejaría, establishing a subtle contrast between the speed and volatility of the writing that is spread on digital platforms and the traditional technique of capturing the messages in stone to make them endure.
In the history and sensitivity of Cuba, language has been of the utmost importance. In the series Emblemas, the artist combines the insignia of North American cars of the 40s and 50s, a symbol of capitalist progress, with slogans and popular slogans broadly spread during the Cuban revolution. Rodríguez thus synthesizes the paradox that these vehicles, representative of the capitalist development of the United States after the Second World War, have remained in full use in Cuba throughout sixty years of communism.
In the series Reguetón, the artist proposes the decontextualization of lyrics and their relocation in a totally different setting from their place of origin: inscribed in granite panels, as memorials. The careful reading of these isolated phrases - recorded in Optima typography as a nod to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington - reveals unexpected aspects. It is significant that, extracted from their original context, many of the reggaeton verses show little difference with political and even religious discourse. On the other hand, in many occasions there are existentialist aspects that underline the fragility of marginal subjectivities and the human search for transcendence.
This exhibition, curated by Diana Cuéllar, brings together a selection of works that work with different textures and language fuss, bringing together different historical forms of writing. An exhibition-book or, to be more precise, an exhibition-table is established (establishing, again, a link with contemporary digital tablets). In the midst of fashions and the hyper-acceleration of communications, aspects common to the human condition emerge in their permanent search for spirituality, power and poetry.
In the history and sensitivity of Cuba, language has been of the utmost importance. In the series Emblemas, the artist combines the insignia of North American cars of the 40s and 50s, a symbol of capitalist progress, with slogans and popular slogans broadly spread during the Cuban revolution. Rodríguez thus synthesizes the paradox that these vehicles, representative of the capitalist development of the United States after the Second World War, have remained in full use in Cuba throughout sixty years of communism.
In the series Reguetón, the artist proposes the decontextualization of lyrics and their relocation in a totally different setting from their place of origin: inscribed in granite panels, as memorials. The careful reading of these isolated phrases - recorded in Optima typography as a nod to the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington - reveals unexpected aspects. It is significant that, extracted from their original context, many of the reggaeton verses show little difference with political and even religious discourse. On the other hand, in many occasions there are existentialist aspects that underline the fragility of marginal subjectivities and the human search for transcendence.
This exhibition, curated by Diana Cuéllar, brings together a selection of works that work with different textures and language fuss, bringing together different historical forms of writing. An exhibition-book or, to be more precise, an exhibition-table is established (establishing, again, a link with contemporary digital tablets). In the midst of fashions and the hyper-acceleration of communications, aspects common to the human condition emerge in their permanent search for spirituality, power and poetry.
More information
Curator
Diana Cuéllar,
Venue
Ivorypress. C/ Aviador Zorita 46-48. 28020 - Madrid. Spain
Dates
September 17, 2019 - October 26, 2019
Dagoberto Rodríguez Sánchez
Dagoberto Rodríguez Sánchez was born in 1969 in Caibarién, Las Villas, and he graduated from the Superior Institute of Art (ISA), Havana, Cuba, in 1994. In 1992, he co-founded Los Carpinteros collective with Marco Antonio Castillo Valdés and Alexandre Arrechea. Their works have been exhibited in museums and cultural institutions around the world.
Their international renown is evidenced by the inclusion of their artwork in public and private collections, including the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art (CGAC) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain; the Extremadura and Ibero-American Museum of Contemporary Art (MEIAC) in Badajoz, Spain; the Tate Gallery in London United Kingdom; the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, USA; and Daros—Latinamerica in Zürich, Switzerland.
In 2003, Arrechea left the collective and Los Carpinteros split up in 2018. Dagoberto Rodríguez is currently working in Madrid. In his work he combines architecture, design and sculpture. Use humor and irony to address central issues of art, politics and society. The watercolor is a very important part of his creative process, as it is a form of collaboration, registration and revision of his ideas. Often these relationships become a possible conceptual situation.
Their international renown is evidenced by the inclusion of their artwork in public and private collections, including the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art (CGAC) in Santiago de Compostela, Spain; the Extremadura and Ibero-American Museum of Contemporary Art (MEIAC) in Badajoz, Spain; the Tate Gallery in London United Kingdom; the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, France; the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City, USA; and Daros—Latinamerica in Zürich, Switzerland.
In 2003, Arrechea left the collective and Los Carpinteros split up in 2018. Dagoberto Rodríguez is currently working in Madrid. In his work he combines architecture, design and sculpture. Use humor and irony to address central issues of art, politics and society. The watercolor is a very important part of his creative process, as it is a form of collaboration, registration and revision of his ideas. Often these relationships become a possible conceptual situation.
