Press Release: Lordy Rodriguez

New Works: 01.2
07.16.01

THE INTERNATIONAL ARTIST-IN-RESIDENCE PROGRAM

NEW WORKS: 01.2

Exhibition: July 16 ?ptember 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authority of accuracy and fact (until they are proven outdated), Rodriguez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 ?eal' are contained in the map."

Exhibition Dates

July 16 ?ptember 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