Group Visit to Mariano: Variations on a Theme (12.02.21)
Join us for a group visit to the exhibit: Mariano: Variations on a Theme on THURSDAY, DECEMBER 2 at 2 PM.
The first major exhibition on Cuban artist Mariano Rodríguez (1912–90) in the United States, this retrospective features over 140 oil paintings, watercolors, and drawings from leading museum and private collections, including the artist’s estate, which has provided unprecedented access to rarely seen works and archives.
Mariano’s allegiance to the Cuban Revolution limited the display of his artworks in America principally to those created before 1959, when he was a member of the Cuban avant-garde. This exhibition widely expands the artist’s known corpus. It demonstrates how his dedication to lo cubano (the essence of Cuban expression) and his evolving stylistic interests from other parts of the world repositioned him as a painter of universal consequence.
Mariano’s career spanned six decades of the twentieth century. He embarked on his peripatetic life in 1936 when he left Cuba for Mexico to study with painter Manuel Rodríguez Lozano. Mariano belonged to the second generation of Cuban modernists, who first sought to align themselves with Mexico and then to adopt themes of national Cuban identity. Mariano’s Cuban iconography focused on el gallo (the rooster), but he also embraced leitmotifs that included peasants, fruit, vegetation, and marine subjects. In exploring these national themes, Mariano forged distinctive styles that incorporated, in turn, geometric abstraction, abstract expressionism, figuration, and grotesque imagery. Through the grotesque he demonstrated virtuosity in hybridity, signaling a new postmodern orientation.
The guided tour is free and open to all BU students and faculty. Everyone must register because space is limited! Please sign up below only if committed to coming on the tour so as not to take a spot from another student.
We will not be providing transportation. Students should meet at the museum entrance at 2 PM. The McMullen Museum of Art is located at 2101 Commonwealth Avenue, Boston, MA and is easily accessible via the MBTA Green line “B” train.
