Wandering Seattle artist George Rodriguez's exhibition at Foster/White last week, I found myself in a state of overwhelm. So many ceramic heads!
I’d been drawn into the gallery from all the way across the street by the large head that’s pictured at top right and bottom left above. It measures almost four feet tall. Up close, his great eyes are no less impressive. He has the frisson of a leader, not just an imposing piece of art.
All the heads, and a few full figures (with toes), are trapped in tight helmets or shrouds of elaborate decoration. It's both attractive and oppressive. Some do look alive. One (middle row, left) is maybe even caught in the heightened moment before a sudden death.
Others fall just short of what I suspect to be Rodriguez’s goal: to create psychological studies that also contain the power of ritualistic emblems, to bring individual and culture together. To this end, the wall of wide-eyed monkeys feels too cute.
I love in the sculpture pictured at upper left, unusual for its lack of any color but grey. The toes are the most expressive part. They pop out in counterpoint to the tightness and impassivity of the rest of the piece. Poor little guy, left to guard that spot forever with only his shadow moving next to him on the wall.
In the case of four small figures only titled Companion, with open mouths, I don't know how to feel. Are they women? The only women here are small, open-mouthed companions?
Rodriguez represents multiple civilizations and traditions—Chicano, Mongolian, Thai, Greco-Roman—all influences from his own life growing up in Texas and also the 26-country tour through Asia, South America, and Europe he did back in 2010.
Maybe to create more coherence, Rodriguez added a written element to the sculptures. Short bios of the figures read like the most enigmatic horoscopes. "Hugh: Draped in armor and moving forward, the sword will not pierce the spirit. An earnest pause can energize the heart and strengthen resolve. A subsequent withdrawal is a crusade for the mindful." That description applies to the stoic fellow in the center of the grid of photos above.
It seems Rodriguez is still unraveling the notes from his travels, and only just beginning to use them to write his own narratives.
Each of his works over the years has made me ask the same question, which is a funny question to ask of an art object but which keeps coming up: Is it alive or is it dead? Is it, in other words, a specific person or a cultural type? I circle them, trying to make up my mind.
