Mariano Rodríguez (1912–90), La paloma de la paz (The Dove of Peace), 1940. Oil on canvas. Courtesy Fundación Mariano Rodríguez
“Mariano: Variations on a Theme,” the latest in a series of significant exhibitions focused on contemporary Latin American artists, fills two galleries at Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art with more than 140 paintings. This exhibition marks the first-ever retrospective of Mariano’s work in the United States, organized and presented at the McMullen before showing at the Pérez Art Museum Miami next year.
The Cuban painter Mariano Rodriguez (1912–1990, who generally used only his first name), traveled widely and painted prolifically. Like many Cuban artists, his exposure in the United States was limited by political interference after the 1959 revolution. Until now, that has been our loss.
In the past two decades, the McMullen Museum has organized exhibitions of Wifredo Lam, Roberto Matta, Esteban Lisa and Rafael Soriano—all Latin American artists with extensive bodies of work, each deserving individual attention. Curator Elizabeth Thompson Goizueta’s exhibition here continues to explore these internationally respected painters, whose work has been acknowledged throughout the world—except in this country.
Mariano showed widely during his lifetime in Cuba, but also in Mexico and Europe. He traveled incessantly: Mexico City, for early training, but also New York and Madrid; to Russia, Chile, India, China, Venezuela and Canada as well.
Mariano Rodríguez (1912–90), “Descanso” (Rest), 1982. Oil on canvas. Courtesy Fundación Mariano Rodríguez
He soaked up art from every conceivable 20th century style, from Cubism to to geometric abstraction to Abstract Expressionism. He adapted the Baroque grotesque in a particularly haunting period in the 1960s. His body of work reflects all those styles, but stays rooted in Cuban life and iconography. He was dedicated to “lo cubano”—the essence of Cuban expression.
Braque gets evoked in these galleries. Picasso. Matisse. Gaugin. The fact that any mature painter in the early 20th century was influenced by those artists is no surprise. But Franz Kline and Robert Motherwell are here as well, and Goya too, along with Paul Klee. Organized by decades, each section of the exhibition reveals familiar influences, organically blended into Mariano’s world.
“Mariano: Variations on a Theme” is a bilingual exhibition spread out in the Daley Family and Monan galleries. Goizuela’s labels weave Mariano’s artistic biography into a compelling narrative: a Cuban master, with stylistic fluency, exploring “lo cubano” in shifting ways and striking depth.
Several large works, accompanied by the detailed studies that Mariano made in advance, add to visitors’ understanding. But this is not just a pedagogical journey through an artistic life. Every corner turned in “Mariano: Variations on a Theme” reveals unusual treatments of the familiar.
Mariano frequently painted “el gallo,” and his roosters revel in the attention: alternately macho, domestic, mysterious. His “Masas” series depicts common citizens with bold collective energy. His love of shapes and color—fruit, architecture, the human form—were richly investigated. Each painting has a familiar touchstone, yet none feel derivative. Mariano led contemporary art away from popular styles, acknowledging and then incorporating.
Color, gesture, composition, juxtaposition, the evocation of mystery—Mariano exhibited virtuosic facility. His output was prodigious, and consistent—each of the six decades he was active are filled with new outlooks and explorations.
For Americans not steeped in contemporary Latin culture, the works of Mariano—as were previous explorations of contemporary Latin art at the McMullen Museum—reveal a parallel universe, artists working in recognizable styles, evoking their distinct origins.
“Mariano: Variations on a Theme/Variaciones sobre un tema,” runs through Dec. 5 at Boston College’s McMullen Museum of Art, 2101 Commonwealth Ave., Boston. The exhibition is free. Visit bc.edu/artmuseum or call 617 552-8587.
Keith Powers covers music and the arts for Gannett New England, Leonore Overture and Opera News. Follow @PowersKeith; email to keithmichaelpowers@gmail.com.