Recent Work: Pygmalion Effect by Almudena Rodriguez

Having lived in Spain, Mexico and currently living in the United States, artist Almudena Rodriguez shares her fascination with the cross-cultural pollination of ideas and materials.

The work of Almudena Rodriguez is a clear-sighted look at our current time and place, a celebration of craft and mixed media. In her paintings, comics, religious iconography, and mass media populate a world in which self-perception is determined by movies and publicity.

In the Pygmalion Effect, Rodriguez explores the popular psychological idea that greater expectations lead to better performance, questioning how an artist can influence the viewer’s perception. In mixed media on fabric, the paintings layer images and messages ranging from comic-book heroes to abstract splashes and splatters, asking the viewer to stretch their understanding of style, meaning and perception.

A master of mixed media, Rodriguez works with multiple fabrics, paints and papers, using different surfaces to layer images and patterns, from comic illustrations to military camouflage.