"Lust", charcoal on paper, 36" x 42"

Reyes Rodriguez

New Works

Opening Reception: Saturday, September 8, 2007, from 7-10 pm

The Avenue 50 Studio is proud to present new works by Reyes Rodriguez in a long awaited solo exhibition entitled " Appetite". The exhibit will consist of a series of large charcoal drawings on paper and canvas set in motion by personal and social images evoked by a multiplicity of possible appetites.

Reyes Rodriguez has chosen to work in a medium that is comfortable and familiar to him. “I think that people are drawn to charcoal drawings because of how dramatic they can be, the extreme contrast of black and whites demands immediate attention. I find the medium fascinating because there is a basic primitive element that connects you to the surface you are working on, there is no implement between your hand and the paper.” Whether longing, hunger, thirst, inclination or wish, Rodriguez plays with the notion that one can be full and still have an appetite, exploring the concept of indulgence, excitement, desire and wonder, and “sculpting new spaces outside of time.” With negatives and positives, the chiaroscuro windows are filled with energy, intersecting lines and shapes, commitment and conviction.

For this exhibit the artist drew upon the long years of friendship with Los Angeles artist Diane Gamboa who agreed to co-curate and be available for consultation during the creation of his new body of work. Los Angeles writer Sesshu Foster says about Reyes’ work:

“The quadrangles fall through the room like windows in a dream. We see things in them that aren't there, and the pictures change as we move around them or turn away. It's a magic of moonlight, midnight and twilight. Something emerges and we don't know what it is. Something returns to the dark that was always there, that we missed the first time. Look long enough into the abyss, and the abyss will look into you, according to Nietzsche's famous aphorism. Contemplate these appetites and they'll reveal to you the initial shapes or stirrings of desire in your own.......”

Reyes Rodriguez is a Los Angeles based artist. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts from California State University Long Beach in 1982. In the year 2000 his 25-piece solo show that originally opened at Karen Boccalero's Gallery was exhibited in Graz, Austria. His work is also part of the permanent collection of the Mexican Fine Arts Museum in Chicago, Illinois. He is the founder-director of Tropico de Nopal Gallery-Art Space in Los Angeles where he has curated numerous exhibitions of up-and-coming and established artists. This year he was featured as part on the annual LA Weekly, “People 2007” issue which highlighted 100 of the most interesting and influential Angelinos.

September 8 – October 6, 2007