Richard Rodriguez

My practice draws from memory, emotion, and cultural identity, romanticizing lived experience through a blend of South Florida urban calligraphy and Mexican Indigenous heritage imagery. This fusion allows me to navigate personal and collective histories while resisting fixed narratives. I am drawn to abstraction as a way to communicate feeling rather than representation, often working with abstract figures and non-objective compositions that exist somewhere between recognition and ambiguity.

In my current art practice, I rely on both printmaking and painting to create a visual push-and-pull between control and spontaneity. I am interested in the tension that emerges when intentional decision-making collides with the imperfections, accidents, and textures that result from intuitive and energetic applications of ink and paint. I use Mexican maximalism as a guide for selecting color values and contrasts. Through this approach, I create depth by allowing elements to recede or come forward, generating movement, energy, and tension across the surface.