“I started to find my identity and prominence through artistic creation, and the physical and conceptual relationship between humanity and nature became the starting point.” - Julio Cesar Rodriguez

Julio Cesar Rodriguez is unquestionably a Surrealist painter, his work echoes some of the great masters of the movement, such as Magritte, and in the new images shown here, he still retains the disruption of the human form that is a common characteristic of his previous work, but there is also a simpler, more innocent feeling here. Although the monochromatic images are rendered in acrylic, they have the graphic quality of drawings, and the merging of young girl’s heads with aviary studies are suggestive of an other worldly relationship between the two.

"A" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x12in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $500 | BUY NOW — *"A" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x12in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $500 | BUY NOW*

"I describe my work as a mixture of figuration and expressionism with an air of surrealism, where I project my individuality as a creator poetically and philosophically,” says Rodriguez. “I am interested in the connection between man and nature and everything that connects to both. I recreate this in a symbolic way and convert them into a scene with characters in ambiguous situations.”

The fantastical aspect of Rodriguez’ paintings are not removed from autobiography. We have accepted that dreams are always deeply revelatory, and the artist’s imagination becomes a bridge into that alternate world.

“This sample of my most recent work is a philosophical approach to those formal-poetic visions with which I'm reviewing my life. Each work becomes an illusion of alternate reality where I have fun with my unconscious and dialogue with my memories and shared memories in order to build an illusory present.”

*"B" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017)*

“From that I started to find my identity and prominence through artistic creation, and the physical and conceptual relationship between humanity and nature became the starting point. My work is a recreation symbolic of my personal experiences, the reflection of my life - my joys and sorrows, my loneliness and thoughts ...like the seasons of nature. My paintings present my intimate works from silence, where with my own angels struggle to break free from everyday life and thus recreate my passage through this world. My works are the ideal medium for channeling my interiority as creator; windows that open to the world, becoming the exact connection between the viewer and the artist - and in the end, both witness the magic.”

November 5 & 6, Rodriguez will be participating in the 2017 Open Studio Weekend, presented by Louisville Visual Art and the University of Louisville’s Hite Institute for Art.

Age: 40
Hometown: Holguin, Cuba
Education: BFA, Fine Art Academy, Holguin, Cuba
Gallery Representation: Revelry Boutique Gallery
Website: www.juliocesart.com

"G" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW — *"G" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW*

"E" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW — *"E" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017), $400 | BUY NOW*

*"C" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017)*

*"F" by Julio Cesar Rodriguez, 8x8in, acrylic on canvas (2017)*

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Painting

Vignette: Julio Cesar Rodríguez

Josh Jenkins · October 27, 2016

"The Fleeting Reflection" by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 24x48in, oil on canvas (2016) — *"The Fleeting Reflection" by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 24x48in, oil on canvas (2016)*

Julio Cesar Rodríguez describes his work as: “…a mixture of figuration and expressionism with an air of surrealism, where I project my individuality as a creator poetically and philosophically.” Certainly the images call to the viewer’s mind Rene Magritte, even if the impenetrable black hat we find here is a fedora and not the iconic bowler of the famous French surrealist painter.

Drawing on his dreams in the most literal sense, Rodríguez recreates images from the narrative his subconscious weaves at night, wherein the human form occupies space as both object and field. The ubiquitous and benign violation of the body in dreams is brilliantly realized in these paintings, but in terms that are unexpectedly accessible and not so disturbing; flesh becomes wood but is not deconstructed into splinters.

“When I'm painting I feel my mind is opened as a theater stage, and my staging begins to establish itself with its own lights and shadows, colors and strokes; and then going to bed trying to sleep with that huge dark hat is the night. It is in this process where I feel I still perched at that stage…floating in my paintings.”

A detail of one of Rodríguez paintings. — *A detail of one of* *Rodríguez* *paintings.*

Rodríguez has exhibited internationally and has work in private collections in Cuba, USA, Puerto Rico, Canada, China, Mexico, Belgium, Panama, Argentina, Spain, Ukraine, the Dominican Republic, Germany, and Italy. His most recent show was “SLEEPLESS ILLUSION”, was at Revelry Boutique Gallery in Louisville, Kentucky.

You can visit Julio Cesar Rodríguez in his studio on the southeast side of Louisville during OPEN STUDIO WEEKEND, November 5 & 6, 2016. The event benefits scholarship programs for Louisville Visual Art and University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute and tickets may be purchased here.

Hometown: Louisville, Kentucky
Age: 40
Education: 1988-1995 Fine Art Academy in Holguin, Cuba. Graduated in Painting, Drawing and Photograph
Gallery Representative: Revelry Boutique Gallery

“Fading Flesh” by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 48x36in, oil on canvas (2016) — *“Fading Flesh” by* *Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 48x36in, oil on canvas (2016)*

“The Mystifying Face of the Moon” by Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 48x36in, oil on canvas (2016) — *“The Mystifying Face of the Moon” by* *Julio Cesar Rodríguez, 48x36in, oil on canvas (2016)*

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Please contact josh@louisvillevisualart.org for further information on advertising through Artebella. — *Please contact* *josh@louisvillevisualart.org* *for further information on advertising through Artebella.*

julio cesar rodriguez

Vignette: Julio Cesar Rodriguez

“I started to find my identity and prominence through artistic creation, and the physical and conceptual relationship between humanity and nature became the starting point.” - Julio Cesar Rodriguez

Vignette: Julio Cesar Rodríguez