Press Release: Lordy Rodriguez

New Works: 01.2
07.16.01

THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM
NEW WORKS: 01.2
Exhibition: July 16 – September 9, 2001

Brian Conley - New York, NY
Christian Jankowski - Berlin, Germany
Lordy Rodriguez - Houston, TX

About the Artist
Lordy Rodriguez was born in 1976 in Quezon City, Manila, Philippines. Moving to the United States at an early age, he grew up primarily in Louisiana and Texas, often traveling with his family across the country to visit relatives. After attending the University of Houston, Houston, TX, Rodriguez received his BFA from the School of Visual Arts, New York, NY in 1999. His work has been featured in solo exhibitions at Clementine Gallery, New York (2000) and Finesilver Gallery, San Antonio, TX (1999). Group exhibitions include Small Works, New York University Gallery, New York (2000); Comings and Goings: Lordy Rodriguez, Simon Kang, Jeronimo Eleiste, Visual Arts Gallery, New York, NY (1999); At Home and Abroad: 20 Filipino Artists, which traveled to the Asian Art Museum, San Francisco, CA, the University of Hawaii at Manoa Art Gallery, Honolulu, HI; the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, TX; and the Metropolitan Museum, Manila, Philippines (1998-99). He also participated in All Sizes Real People, an exhibition seen at three venues in Houston: the Museum of Fine Arts, the Multi-Cultural Education and Counseling through the Arts (MECA), and DiverseWorks (1997). The artist currently lives and works in Houston, TX.

Drawing primarily in pen and ink, Lordy Rodriguez reconfigures existing maps creating imaginary compositions that are at once distinctly familiar and candidly absurd. Misplaced cities and fictional states appear alongside recognizable landmarks and iconic sites. While maps often assume an unquestionable authority of accuracy and fact (until they are proven outdated), Rodriguez dismantles conventional notions of locale and geography through intuitive associations and personal narratives.

Lordy Rodriguez was selected for his ArtPace residency by Lisa Corrin, Chief Curator at the Serpentine Gallery, London, England. She has organized a number of significant shows for the Serpentine including solo exhibitions by Felix Gonzalez-Torres, Chris Ofili, Jane and Louise Wilson, Bridget Riley, and an upcoming show of Rachael Whiteread. Corrin was recently appointed Deputy Director for Art/Jon and Mary Shirley Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at the Seattle Art Museum, WA.

About the Project
For his project at ArtPace, Lordy Rodriguez continues his exploration of map- making as a personal interpretation. Incorporating video and sculptural elements for the first time, Rodriguez has created new work based on the geography of Texas and San Antonio's central location within the Lone Star State.

Rodriguez's installation is comprised of four hand-drawn maps placed atop irregularly shaped platforms and four video monitors. Suggesting an intersection of roads or a dioramic relief map, the installation forms an ordinal axis. The drawings and the videos refer to four road trips that the artist took during his residency. Traveling north, south, east, and west from San Antonio, Rodriguez documented the moving asphalt as seen from beneath the car. The resulting images are barely recognizable as a road, appearing as a fast-paced blur of grey and black. To indicate the artist's exact location in relation to the video, a small light marks a specific point on each map. However, like his previous work, Rodriguez provides only cursory clues to any actual place. The maps, reconfigured as imaginary geographies, collapse local and foreign, real and invented locations. These cartographies are no more precise than the moving images of unidentifiable highway.

Introducing an element of time into this new work, Rodriguez complicates the viewer's attempts to reconcile travel, origin, and destination. The slow movement of the "you are here" light can only be witnessed through patience or repeat visits, and the rapidly moving abstract landscapes belie a clear narrative. The question, "where are you?" is constantly at play.

Rodriguez has consistently used strategies of misrecognition and misdirection to challenge our assumptions of the meaning of place. Viewed within the context of American car culture, made quite literal in this new work, Rodriguez reflects on the links between memory, perception, and cartography. Commenting on the nature of his work, Rodriguez has said, "The question of reality and the different interpretations of what is ‘real' are contained in the map."

Exhibition Dates
July 16 – September 9, 2001

Opening Reception
Monday, July 16, 6:30-8:30 PM

Artists' Dialogue
Tuesday, July 17, 6:30-8:30 PM
Featuring Brian Conley, Christian Jankowski,
and Lordy Rodriguez, moderated by Lisa Corrin, Chief Curator of Serpentine Gallery, London.

Brown Bag Lunch
Wednesday, August 29, 12:00-1:00 PM
Join us for a tour of New Works: 01.2 and a brown bag lunch provided by Pecan Street Deli. Please call ArtPace to make reservations.

Event Locations
All events held at ArtPace, 445 N. Main Avenue. Free parking at Flores Street and Savings. ArtPace is open to the public Wednesday thru Sunday, 12-5 PM, Thursday until 8 PM and by appointment. There is no charge for admission.

445 North Main Avenue San Antonio TX 78205 t 210 212 4900 f 210 212 4990 www.artpace.org