MAREO RODRIGUEZ | “Matter Is Condensed Light”
By Leila Antakly
“My work explores the strength of the topography and natural territory, conceived as an energy living mantle constantly moving; Epidermal stratification wrought by time, with a telluric language emerging, pressing, gravitating, revealing through the landscape. I seek to cover different scales within my artistic approach, from the massiveness of the mountains and rocks, through their decanting process and fragmentation up to the stone as the basic unit. I am interested in the matter as condensation of light and its process of transformation and expansion of energy over time, releasing weight to return to the origin”. – Mareo Rodriguez
Leila Antakly discovered the work of Mario Rodriguez, an incredible artist born in Mexico City, raised in Medellin, Colombia, and currently based in Barcelona. His work tributes the power and beauty of nature in its most raw forms, reminding us of the Earth’s surface, volcanic rock, glass, different textures, and the complex interplay between their light and shadows.
MAREO RODRIGUEZ | “Matter Is Condensed Light”
By Leila Antakly
Leila Antakly: How did you get into the arts?
Mareo Rodriguez: All my life, I’ve been surrounded by a studio as my mother had one, so I was raised immersed in spaces of creation, clay, casts, paintings, fabrics.
I started to create very early and was rolled in different academies. Then I got a bachelor’s degree in Architecture in Colombia. But I could say that professionally, I started my career in 2013 when I decided to go to Buenos Aires, Argentina, for a master’s in Fine Arts; afterward, I came to Spain in 2014 and opened my own studio.
L. A.: Greatest inspiration or influences?
M. R.: Artists such as Richard Serra, Olafur Eliasson, Richard Long, Anish Kapoor, Pierre Soulages, Carlos Cruz Diez, Jesus Rafael Soto, among others, but definitely in contact with nature, I find my best way to get inspired.
L. A.: Do you think the art world needs to change, and if so, how can it be improved?
M. R.: The art scene is changing a lot; the new media and social networks are big windows to spread messages and get to know all over the world, we are experiencing democratization of power.
Emerging artists now have their own way of connecting with other artists with similar visions, collectors, and eventually galleries that help to grow in their careers.
Art is becoming more accessible and less elitist; also, people are more aware of the power of healing and transformation of the consciousness of making and contemplating art.
170 x 140 cm (66 x 54 inches).
Acrylic on Canvas. © All rights reserved.
30×60 inches © All rights reserved.
