“Mariano: Variations on a Theme” opens today, August 6, 2022. The exhibit—showcasing nearly six decades of artistic production—is the first major retrospective of the work of Cuban artist Mariano Rodríguez (1912-1990). The exhibition will be open until January 22, 2023, at the Pérez Art Museum Miami (PAMM), located at 1103 Biscayne Boulevard in Miami, Florida.
Mariano: Variations on a theme is the first major retrospective exhibition of the work of Cuban artist Mariano Rodríguez (b. 1912, Havana; d. 1990, Havana) in the United States.
Spanning nearly six decades of artistic production, this retrospective features paintings, watercolors and drawings on loan from major private and institutional collections, including the artist’s estate, which has provided unprecedented access to rarely seen works and archival material. Popularly known simply as “Mariano”, the artist is considered one of the world’s most important painters Monday vanguard – the second generation of Cuban modernists who, in the 1940s and 1950s, used their work to construct and express their vision of the essence of Cuban national identity. Although best known for his variations on the theme of crows (rooster), Mariano also embraced motifs such as peasants, fruit, vegetation and marine subjects. In elaborating these themes, Mariano adopted a variety of stylistic approaches, from figuration to geometric abstraction, abstract expressionism and grotesque imagery. Through the grotesque he demonstrated a rich hybridization of form and styles, which signaled a new postmodern orientation in his work.
For more information, see https://www.pamm.org/en/exhibition/mariano-variations-on-a-theme
[Shown above: Mariano’s “La naranja,” 1972.]
