Carlos Rodriguez’s solo Platform exhibition is now live in Unit London’s online viewing room (click here to view).
As an artist led gallery, Unit London is dedicated to supporting its artists and giving them a focussed space in which they can express their ideas. Platform engages with topical cultural and socio-political issues, inviting artists to explore the profound concepts that motivate their work. In keeping with the social principles of the exhibition programme, 10% of all sales proceeds from each Platform show are donated to a charity of the artist’s choosing. Rodriguez’s nominated charity is CASA FRIDA – LGBTQ+ SHELTER. Casa Frida is a safe collective space that supports young members of the LGBTQ+ community, as well as drug users, sex workers and those living with HIV. The shelter provides temporary housing as well as food and medical assistance, helping young people to reintegrate into their homes and enter working environments.
Carlos Rodriguez is a self-taught artist whose work is motivated by curiosity and the pull of destiny. His Platform exhibition, entitled Astronomía Popular (Popular Astronomy), was initially inspired by two influences. The first is the Flammarion Engraving (19th Century) by an unknown artist. The engraving was first featured in the French astronomer, Camille Flammarion’s, 1888 book, L’atmosphère : météorologie populaire. The book was dedicated to the distribution of astronomical findings, indicating a society where human beings were increasingly amazed by the wonders of the universe. The second inspiration is the work of the illusionist and filmmaker, George Méliès (1861-1938). As a proponent of science fiction, Méliès directed numerous space travel movies, featuring celestial bodies personified by human actors. Spurred by these influences, Rodriguez’s Platform exhibition demonstrates the frequently occurring union between science and magic. His ethereal works reflect humanity’s drive to understand the power and mystery of the otherworldly and infinite.
Equally, Rodriguez’s work explores images of the male body, aiming to portray a side of masculinity that is nuanced and emotionally complex. The artist’s paintings dispel images of men that are concerned with traditional tropes of strength and virility. Rodriguez’s cast of male characters explore their feelings, relationships and sexual desires in a way that is intimate and deeply personal.
Carlos Rodriguez, The Sun / A Radiant Man, 2021, Oil on canvas, 51 cm x 60 cm
Based in Mexico City, Carlos Rodriguez (b.1980) is an artist known for his drawings, paintings and ceramics that explore the male body, sexual desire as a creative impulse and issues of gender and identity. Inspired by classical painting, naïve art and pornography, his playful work reveals natural scenes of men engaged in their games and fantasies. Rodriguez has exhibited widely in solo and group shows across Mexico. His first solo exhibition, Realms of Bliss, opened in 2018 in Guadalajara. In 2019, Rodriguez began to exhibit in the USA with solo shows in Los Angeles and New York. In 2021, the artist has had his first exhibitions in Europe with his Platform solo show and a group show at the Institut Cuturel du Mexique in Paris, France.