Max Rodriguez
Artist Statement
Color is the most essential element in my artwork. Whether painting abstracts, landscapes or figurative pieces, the color combinations and contrasts tell much of the story. My memory of color has always been very strong and vivid. The mental pictures I have of Cuba are drenched in color. And, after we moved to New Orleans, I remember the things we did and the trips we took mostly in terms of the colors. I would stare out of the window of the car as we drove to Pensacola to the beach when I was a kid, and I would count the number of colors I saw in the beach and the sky. The colors of my childhood really influenced how I see things and how I paint.
I shift between abstract works at one time to landscape or figurative paintings at other times.
I try to elevate my abstracts to the more sublime level of landscapes and give my landscapes that conscious spirituality of abstraction. At other times I redirect myself into a more socially constructive end and paint in a figurative style, relying on memories of my childhood in Cuba and New Orleans for strong images.
My landscapes have a feeling of openness, and an important element of every painting is the infinite point -- that place where ocean meets sky, water becomes air, earth becomes space. The abstract paintings are inspired by elements of nature and earth at their fundamental and organic levels. Contrasts between textures and colors tell most of the story, but the paintings’ remaining chapters are left for the viewer to write his or her own interpretation of what they see.
My figurative paintings are illustrative and complex. My images may appear simple and full of my childhood innocence, but my decision to paint these memories has helped me to lift the veil off that innocence. I paint these images to reveal the difference between what I saw happening in Cuba as a child and what I now know were the true living conditions -- the poverty, the repression.
A better understanding of global issues -- poverty, global warming, pollution -- was my initial inspiration to begin painting several years ago. Destruction of rain forests, beaches and other precious environments inspired me to paint landscapes and abstracts showing beautiful settings affected by aging, decay, rusting and deterioration. I use these same techniques on the figurative paintings to emphasize the difference between the childhood memory and the decline of living conditions.
Overall, I want to inspire people with my artwork. When someone finds the colors of a painting soothing, or someone else remembers a day in their own life from one of my paintings, I feel my purpose in this world is fulfilled.