[act-ma] Cuban Artist Exhibition: "Mariano: Variations on a Theme | Variaciones sobre un tema"

[Charlie Welch]

  Exhibition: "Mariano: Variations on a Theme | Variaciones sobre un tema"

The first major exhibition on Cuban artist Mariano Rodríguez (1912–90) 
in the United States, this retrospective features over 140 oil 
paintings, watercolors, and drawings from leading museum and private 
collections, including the artist’s estate, which has provided 
unprecedented access to rarely seen works and archives.

Mariano’s allegiance to the Cuban Revolution limited the display of his 
artworks in America principally to those created before 1959, when he 
was a member of the Cuban avant-garde. This exhibition widely expands 
the artist’s known corpus. It demonstrates how his dedication to /lo 
cubano /(the essence of Cuban expression) and his evolving stylistic 
interests from other parts of the world repositioned him as a painter of 
universal consequence.

Mariano’s career spanned six decades of the twentieth century. He 
embarked on his peripatetic life in 1936 when he left Cuba for Mexico to 
study with painter Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. Mariano belonged to the 
second generation of Cuban modernists, who first sought to align 
themselves with Mexico and then to adopt themes of national Cuban 
identity. Mariano’s Cuban iconography focused on /el gallo/ (the 
rooster), but he also embraced leitmotifs that included peasants, fruit, 
vegetation, and marine subjects. In exploring these national themes, 
Mariano forged distinctive styles that incorporated, in turn, geometric 
abstraction, abstract expressionism, figuration, and grotesque imagery. 
Through the grotesque he demonstrated virtuosity in hybridity, signaling 
a new postmodern orientation.

Elizabeth Thompson Goizueta will serve as the exhibition’s curator and 
will edit and contribute to an accompanying bilingual catalogue that 
includes essays by Alejandro de la Fuente, professor of Latin American 
history at Harvard University, and Roberto Cobas Amate, curator of the 
Cuban avant-garde collection at the Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes in 
Havana. Together, the essays consider sixty years of Mariano’s career, 
illuminating both his roots in traditional forms of Cuban symbolism and 
his unique styles that characterize his work beyond /lo cubano./

Organized by the McMullen Museum in collaboration with the Fundación 
Mariano Rodríguez, the exhibition will travel to Pérez Art Museum Miami 
in 2022. Major support has been provided by Boston College and the 
Patrons and the Latin American Art Initiative of the McMullen Museum.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Esta retrospectiva, la primera exposición importante sobre el artista 
cubano Mariano Rodríguez (1912–90) en los Estados Unidos, presenta más 
de 140 obras entre óleos, acuarelas y dibujos provenientes de 
importantes museos y colecciones privadas, incluyendo la de la Fundación 
Mariano Rodríguez, que han proporcionado un acceso sin precedentes a 
obras y archivos muy poco vistos hasta este momento.

La lealtad de Mariano a la Revolución cubana limitó la exposición de sus 
obras en los Estados Unidos, donde principalmente se exhibieron las 
creadas antes de 1959, cuando formaba parte de la vanguardia cubana. 
Esta exposición expande ampliamente el corpus conocido del artista. 
Demuestra cómo su dedicación a “lo cubano”, combinada con la evolución 
de sus intereses estilísticos a partir de influencias de otras partes 
del mundo, lo reposicionaron como un pintor de resonancia universal.

La carrera de Mariano abarcó seis décadas del siglo XX. Su vida 
itinerante comenzó en 1936 cuando dejó Cuba para estudiar en México con 
el pintor Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. Mariano pertenecía a la segunda 
generación de pintores modernos cubanos, que inicialmente buscaron 
alinearse con México y luego adoptaron temas de identidad nacional 
cubana. La iconografía cubana de Mariano se centró en el gallo, pero 
también incluía otros leitmotivs—imágenes de campesinos, frutas, 
vegetación, y temas marinos. Al explorar estas temáticas nacionales, 
Mariano forjó estilos distintivos que incorporaron, a su vez, la 
abstracción geométrica, el expresionismo abstracto, la figuración y una 
imaginería grotesca. A través de lo grotesco demostró virtuosismo en la 
hibridez, señalando una nueva orientación posmoderna.

Elizabeth Thompson Goizueta será la comisaria de la exposición y editará 
y contribuirá a un catálogo bilingüe acompañante que incluirá ensayos de 
Alejandro de la Fuente, profesor de historia latinoamericana de la 
Universidad de Harvard, y Roberto Cobas Amate, comisario de la colección 
de arte de vanguardia cubana del Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes de La 
Habana. En conjunto, los ensayos explorarán sesenta años de la carrera 
de Mariano, iluminando tanto sus raíces en las formas tradicionales del 
simbolismo cubano como el estilo único que caracteriza su trabajo más 
allá de lo nacional.

Organizada por el Museo McMullen en colaboración con la Fundación 
Mariano Rodríguez, la exposición viajará al Pérez Art Museum Miami en 
2022. Ha sido subvencionada por Boston College con el apoyo de los 
Patrocinadores y la Iniciativa de Arte Latinoamericano del McMullen Museum.

Weekends12:00pm to 5:00pm

Weekdays 10 am to 5 pm

more detail in link below.

More dates through December 5, 2021 
<http://events.bc.edu/event/exhibition_mariano_variations_on_a_theme_variaciones_sobre_un_tema#>

McMullen Museum of Art <http://events.bc.edu/McMullen_Museum>
2101 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA 02135

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    <https://www.bc.edu/sites/artmuseum/exhibitions/mariano/>

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Contact

    rachel.chamberlain at bc.edu <mailto:rachel.chamberlain at bc.edu>;
    617.552.1427

Open To

    Free; open to the public