Take it for a walk and see what happens
A studio visit with Miguel Rodriguez Alfageme + gratitude to last
It only took four years, but I finally made it to the studio of Miguel Rodriguez, just outside of Washington, DC, this past weekend. It wasn’t for lack of trying to get there these past few years, but I’m grateful for the stars finally aligning and everything falling into place incredibly well a few days ago. This visit was special because I’ve known and been friends with Miguel for almost twenty years, while watching his work evolve and literally bloom over the past 6-7 years.
Back in 2017, Miguel and I had a two-person exhibition, “Forms Of Resistance”, at ArtSpace 1241, a gallery space located in an artist warehouse space where I had a studio for a couple of years. Miguel also has history with the same building, having had a design business there, along with his sister, Julia, in the early 2000s. The show came together during a few phone calls between Miguel and myself in response to the social/political upheaval before and after 2016. Then, as now, we felt the need to stake a claim as artists for art being a legitimate form of creative resistance to authoritarianism engulfing us.
Miguel’s layered, intricate, organic forms with acrylic paint, collage and inks on paper, were really rich and both adventurous and subtle with color and formal attributes. Everything that makes his current work just as exciting to engage with in person. I watched, via Instagram, as his nonobjective forms began to morph into the mostly recognizable plant and flower subjects of some of his more recent work of the past few years.
Studio visits can be such revelatory things. For example, I’ve been looking at photos of Miguel’s space online for the past four years and none of them prepared me for the actual scale of it. I kind of knew to expect to encounter a lot of work, but nothing prepared me for the volume of mixed media works on paper and works on sewn canvas and paper that was there. There were several seemingly organized piles on the floor. At least, and most importantly, Miguel knew where things were.
Miguel moves between canvases and mixed media works on paper, with the latter being more prominent in his practice over the years. Some of that has to do with the ease of transporting pieces from studio to dealers via tubes as opposed to stretched canvases. Artistically, the paper and paper/canvas combos allow for a freedom to explore various ways of mark and image making that regular stretched canvas doesn’t. He pieces together his works through sewing, taking smaller drawings and often collaging them together to create larger pieces.
The mediums Rodriguez uses includes, coffee, inks, acrylic paints, Flashe (matte vinyl paints), colored pencils and oil sticks. He often starts with staining his surfaces with coffee and/or inks, while also employing folding techniques with the liquid mediums to attain unusual effects that can sometimes have one mistaking paper for another material altogether at first or even a third glance. In the last photo above, the three works on paper employ staining, folding and direct drawing, creating what looked to me like a heavier corrugated material. Many of Miguel’s pieces really pull at you and require some time to take them in.
Like most good art, what you see in online images is often no match for when you encounter it up close and personal. While I’ve been familiar with his work over the years, I was rocked this time by his use of color, materials and range of experimentation. Going back to the first photo in this post, Miguel really “takes it for a walk” when it comes to reaching outward and stretching his work and himself as an artist. “Take it for a walk” refers to solo improvisational playing in jazz where a musician will break ties with the established melody and wander musically for a while before returning “home”.
There’s an energy emanating from his surfaces that resonates with life: flowers, pods, stems and leaves appear engulfed by and emitting their own particular energy that seems to resonate at times with the cosmic. That might sound hyperbolic, but I mean, we are all made of stardust and the energy of the stars vibrates within every living thing. It’s only natural that those of us, like Miguel, would find ways of radiating some of that back out into the world.
Like most of the times when I get to visit someone’s studio, I left feeling a little overwhelmed but filled up and ready to maybe tackle some of my own work in new ways. There’s something about being in someone’s creative space where you just know there’s a lot going on physically, mentally and emotionally. All cylinders are burning. I could feel it in the air there.
My thanks to Miguel for sharing his space and loads of work to check out.
For more information about Miguel Rodriguez, check out his website: Miguel Rodriguez Studio
Miguel’s work is represented by: K. Imperial Fine Art, Gut Gallery and Carrie Coleman Fine Art
All in on gratitude
I believe in the power of gratitude and I try to keep at front of mind as much as possible. I try to use it as a way to reframe negative things that happen (or what I may perceive as negative), which usually brings me to a better state of mind. It may not erase the bad thing, but finding something to be grateful for in as many situations as possible can have a cumulative affect on how we cope with the ups and downs of life. Of course, I do practice gratitude when good things happen, as well, especially when small wins come around. The big ones are easy, but recognizing and giving the smaller wins their due is important.
Recent months have been tough in their own ways, but I’ve had some small but great things happen that made me extra thankful:
A few weeks ago, I had the honor of being a visiting artist at West Chester University, a school in the western suburbs of Philadelphia. In the morning, I gave a talk to a class of senior art students and after a break for lunch, I met with several students individually to discuss their senior thesis projects. I like these kinds of crit sessions, but the time constraints can be a challenge, especially when I see that there’s a lot to explore with a student’s work and ideas.
Anyway, all of that to say that, when I was finished with my sessions, one of the first students I talked with presented me with this linoleum print of a cat. I was shocked, but honored that she’d share her work so generously with me in this way. In all of the time I’ve been doing crits as a visiting artist, this was the first time a student gave me a piece of their work. I was completely surprised and felt honored that they’d share their work so freely. It’s enough for me to make a connection with art students through their work, but this act made it really special.
The next small, but mighty gesture I was grateful for came in the form of this “token” that arrived in the mail from
. Mansi and I are regulars in a weekly group call led by called the . Mansi, the “Ripple Maker” makes bookmark-shaped “tokens” that she gives out to people wherever she goes. In this case, during one recent call, Mansi said she’d send out tokens to whomever in group wanted one and I signed up. It’s a great little piece of art and I’m thankful for Mansi’s generosity.
So, I don’t dwell on subscriber numbers here, but I’m really thankful for everyone who has taken the time to subscribe and read my writings. I’ve been publishing my blog and monthly newsletter for years. Every once in a while, I’ll take a look at where people are subscribing from out of curiosity. Most of you are from the U.S., but there are a few spread out across the globe! Outside of Australia, all of the lighter shaded countries have anywhere from 1-10 readers.
Of course, the ‘net has been global since day one. Sometimes, we can forget that someone might be reading our words and seeing our photos who might be living somewhere that we wouldn’t even expect to have been found. I’m honestly just thankful that people are finding my written thoughts good enough to want to have them arriving in their inboxes. Seriously.
As an artist putting thoughts out into the world about my experiences, I feel that If something I write resonates with someone enough that they want more every week, then I’m grateful for that. As a visually oriented person, It’s not always easy to put words to thoughts about art or feelings about it, but I manage. So a big THANK YOU! to all of you who are here and keep reading. I appreciate you.
April winds kicked up the other day and I forgot the name of this plant that’s next to the house and I don’t know who needs to see this but here’s a minute plus of it blowing around in slow motion…
See you soonish!
TM