Figure 1804, 2017

Ballpoint pen and acrylic on paper

22 x 30 inches

Fair Market Value: $5,000

Starting Bid: $3,500

Buy It Now: $7,500

GAMALIEL RODRIGUEZ (b. 1977, Bayamon, Puerto Rico) is a visual artist based in Puerto Rico. His large-scale works on paper imagine landscapes inspired by the two-fold character of Puerto Rico, which the artist recently described as a mix of "beauty and chaos." Merging industrial and natural environments, Rodriguez depicts abandoned structures surrounded by verdant greenery-which he often renders as an aerial view. Devoid of a human presence, the overgrown buildings have a dystopic yet familiar feel, prompting mis-recognitions by viewers reminded of locations in their own hometowns. Though the artist's subjects are fictitious, they are inspired by the accumulation of manufacturing projects in Puerto Rico established and ultimately abandoned by US companies lured by tax breaks and cheap labor in the mid-20th century. Rodriguez received his BA from the University of Sacred Heart in San Juan PR in 2004, his MFA from the Kent Institute of Art and Design in 2005, and attended the prestigious Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture in Maine in 2011. He has participated in numerous residencies and fellowships such as The MacDowell Fellowship in 2012 and The International Studio & Curatorial Program Residency in 2013. In 2016, Rodríguez had a solo exhibition at SCAD Museum in Savannah, Georgia which featured Figure 1737, a 45-foot long ballpoint pen drawing. He has also exhibited his work at Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, San Juan and the Bronx Museum of the Arts in New York. He is represented by Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York.

Artist-in-Residence, 2017