Cristina Rodriguez

"I paint about the simple wonders of our daily life.
My gift to the world is to create paintings that radiate hope and beauty.
I create paintings that show trees that have not yet been cut, mountains that have not yet been ravaged, people that have not yet been subjected to any type of violence, seas that have not yet been contaminated, beaches that have not yet been polluted. I paint about all of what still exists and must be protected."

Cristina Rodriguez, London 2009

Biography
1964    Born in Colombia
1983-1987   BA in Fine Arts, University of Los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
1989-1991   MA in Painting, The Slade School of Fine Art, London University, Great Britain 
 
Awards
1989 Scholarship for Outstanding Artists. Icetex: Government of Colombia
1990 The British Council Scholarship
1992 The Delfina Studios Scholarship. Delfina Studios Trust (one year)
1993 Travel Scholarship to Zimbabwe. Delfina Studios Trust
1995 Travel Scholarship to New York. Delfina Studios Trust
 
Solo Exhibitions
1987 Pictures at an Exhibition , Fundación Alzate Avendaño, Bogotá, Colombia
1991 My Gift to a Continent , Cadogan Gallery, London, GB
1997 The Carnival of the Animals , The Pump House Gallery, London, GB
1999 La Fête Sous la Pyramide , Carrousel du Louvre, Paris, France
2001 Jump Into Reality , MacLean Fine Art, The Air Gallery, London, GB
2004 The Desert Is Not Deserted , The Orangery Gallery, Holland Park, London, GB
2006 Imaginary Landscapes , Blenheim Crescent Gallery, London, GB
2014 De los Alpes a los Andes , Deimos Gallery, Bogotá, Colombia
2016 Promenades Enchantées à Genève , Cité du Temps, Geneva, Switzerland
 
Group Exhibitions
1987 Los Nuevos Pintores de Bogotá, Centro Colombo Americano, Bogotá, Colombia
1988 Nuevas Tendencias, Galeria Ventana, Cali, Colombia
1989 30 Años de Arte, Biblioteca Luis Ángel Arango, Bogotá, Colombia
1990 Contemporary View, The Royal College of Art and Christie's, London, GB
1991 The Discerning Eye, The Mall Galleries, London, GB
Under the Eye of Saturn, Oriel Mostyn Gallery, Llandudno, Wales, GB
1992 The Ship of Fools, Acom Gallery, Liverpool, GB
1993 Summer Show, Delfina Studios, London, GB
The Affordable Art Company, Connaught Brown, London, GB
Delta Gallery Exhibition, Delta Gallery, Harare, Zimbawbe
1995 The Affordable Art Company, Connaught Brown, London, GB
1997 The Affordable Art Company, Connaught Brown, London, GB
2002 Dangerous Corners: An Exhibition of Football, Gallery 27, London, GB
2006 Two Worlds: Two Different Mediums, Fernand Vanderplancke and Cristina Rodriguez, Kursaal, Oostende, Belgium
2008 Art for Life, Somerset House, London, GB
The Art Movement Art Sale & Auction, Christies, London, GB
2009 Mondi Lontanissimi, Vittorio Vecchi and Cristina Rodriguez, Galleria "evvivanoé esposizioni d'arte", Cherasco, Italy
Westminster Arts Open Exhibition, SW1 Gallery, London, GB
Biennale Internazionale Dell'Arte Contemporanea, Florence Biennale, Fortezza da Basso, Florence, Italy
Imaginary Journeys, curated by Paola Trevisan, Castello Estense, Ferrara, Italy
2010

Little Treasures, Piccoli Gioeolli, Mostra d'Arte Internazionale, curated by Paola Trevisan. Galleria de Marchi, Bologna, Italy
Salon Mediterraneen d'Art Contemporain, Aix en Provence, South of France, 2010. Evvivanoe Art Gallery

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Grand Tour, Grobnik Castle, Rijeka, Croatia, 2010, curated by Adelinda Allegretti 
Butler Goode Gallery, Sydney, Australia, 2010
Celestial Spirits, Amsterdam Whitney, New York, USA, 2010
Museo Civico do Alatri, Alatri, Italy. Curated by Adelinda Allegretti, 2010
Marziart, Hamburg, Germany, 2010
Gallerie Gora, Montreal, Canada, 2010
Broadway Gallery, New York, USA, 2010
2011 Artspace Galleries, London and Paris Group Exhibition, 2011
London, GB
Paris, France
2012 The Broken Boundaries Exhibition, Chelsea Fine Art Building, New York, USA, 2012
Exposición Internacional de Arte Contemporáneo, Effetto Biennale, Museo de la ciudad de Mérida, Méjico, 2012
Santorini Biennale of Arts, Pyrgos, Santorini, Greece, 2012
 
Art Fairs
2007 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, London, GB
20/21 International Art Fair, Royal College of Art, London, GB
AAF New York, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, USA
Art London, The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, GB
2008 London Art Fair, Business Design Centre, London, GB
AAF New York, Metropolitan Pavilion, New York, USA
Art London, The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, GB
AAF Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Holland
2009 20/21 International Art Fair, Royal College of Art, London, GB
Art London, The Royal Hospital, Chelsea, London, GB
2010 London Art Fair, Modern, British and Contemporary Art, Lena Boyle Fine Art, London, GB
The Stuttgart-Sindelfingen Art Fair, Adelinda Allegretti, Stuttgart, Germany
Art Sydney, Royal Hall of Industries, Sydney, Australia
2011 The Affordable Art Fair, Milano, Italy
International Fair for Contemporary Art, Innsbruck, Austria
Red Dot Art Fair, New York, USA
Artexpo, New York, USA
2012 The Affordable Art Fair, Bristol GB
 

Her work is in private collections  in Europe, Great Britain, Central America, South America, USA and Africa.

Her work is in the following public collections :

Paintings in Hospitals (Great Britain)
The British Football Association (Great Britain)
The Chelsea and Westminster Hospital, London (Great Britain)
 

Her work is in the following permanent collections:

Permanent collection of the University of Los Andes, Bogotá (Colombia)
Permanent collection of the Santorini Biennale, Pyrgos, Santorini (Greece)
Permanent collection of the Embassy of Colombia, London (Great Britain)
Permanent collection of the Consulate of Colombia, Paris (France)
Permanent collection of the Consulate of Colombia, New York (USA)
Permanent collection of Trinity Hospice, London (Great Britain)

 

 

Cristina Rodriguez was born in Bogotá, Colombia in 1964. She has lived in Colombia, Peru, Germany, Great Britain, USA, Zimbabwe and Switzerland. She now lives in Portugal.  A passionate traveller, she has journeyed extensively through South America, Europe and Africa, finding enrichment and inspiration in the familiar and extraordinary practices and customs she has encountered. Although her paintings sometimes contain abstract and surreal elements, they are always emphatically figurative. Characteristic of her work are the bold outlines of the figures or objects, the curve and curl of the forms and the simplified areas of solid colour which clarify the whole pictorial concept.

Simplicity and a joyous passion for colour: these are the compositional keynotes of Cristina Rodriguez's art –clearly revealing the lasting impact of a childhood spent in Colombia with its rich heritage of folk art, primitive art, narrative art, story-telling, myth and fable.

Among many other influences, Cristina Rodriguez cites her love for early Italian Renaissance art, in particular for the quiet and reverential frescoes of Fra Angelico. Also primitive art in all its forms and the great colourists of the twentieth century, particularly Chagall, whose floating gravity-defying figures and animals find their counterpart in her own work.

Cristina Rodriguez has retained the child's ability to believe in the unbelievable and to see the magic in the mundane. She draws her subjects from the real and the imaginary, fusing fantasy and perception into one.

Her paintings – with their animals, dwelling places, radiant landscapes, domestic rituals and everyday objects – welcome us inside. At their centre are love and tranquillity.

The peaceful atmosphere she achieves is the tangible expression of her own longing for the ideal in life, and her fervent wish to eschew the ugliness and cruelty of the world. These are not spontaneous creations, but deliberate works of art which have been thought out, dreamed over, reflected on. Their purpose is to give joy and comfort and, above all, to affirm life. In their simple, direct way, they appeal to our emotions, evoking harmonious associations and creating recurrent sensations of serenity and beauty. We are disarmed and our hearts open to the magic of her art.

Gillian Adam, London 2007

 
Essays
Essay by Lavinia Calza (The Carnival of the Animals, 1997)
Essay by Vinca Bigo (La Fête Sous la Pyramide, 1999)
Essay by Victor G. Ricardo (Jump Into Reality, 2001)
Essay by Bunny Smedley (Jump Into Reality, 2001)
Essay by Philip Marsden (The Desert Is not Deserted, 2004)
Essay by Bunny Smedley (The Desert Is not Deserted, 2004)
Essay by Imogen Lock (The Story That the Travel Writer Told Me, 2004)
Essay by Luke Elwes (Imaginary Landscapes, 2006)
Essay by Gillian Adam (Biography, 2007)
Essay by Cristina Rodriguez (What Is your Sign?, 2009)
Essay by Sara Malagon (La Vida Es un Milagro, 2014)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Quelques Mots à Propos de l’Artiste, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Le Pianiste du Chelsea Arts Club, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Rencontre Magique, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Le Perroquet Dans Sheperd’s Bush, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Promesses Sublimes de la Nature, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (L’Enchantement, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Au Cœur d'un Monde Lointain, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Le Vase Bleu, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Le Coucou au Fond des Bois, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Le Poulpe, 2015)
Essay by Eric Levergeois (Lettre, 2015)
Essay by Cité du Temps (Promenades Enchantées à Genève, 2016)
Essay by Dr. Ariane Galy (Biography, 2022)
Essay by Dr. Ariane Galy (Sailing Through the Seventh Sea, 2022)
Essay by Dr. Ariane Galy (Love Boat, 2022)
Essay by Dr. Ariane Galy (Eclipse de Lune, 2022)
Essay by Dr. Ariane Galy (El Último Atardecer del Alcatraz, 2022)
Essay by Dr. Ariane Galy (The Meals, 2022)

"La bonté qui nourrit la beauté ne saurait être identifiée à quelques bons sentiments plus ou moins naïfs. Elle est l'exigence même, exigence de justice, de dignité, de générosité, de responsabilité, d'élévation vers la passion spirituelle.

La vie humaine étant semée d'épreuves, rongée par le mal, la générosité exige des engagements de plus en plus profonds; du coup, elle approfondit aussi sa propre nature et engendre des vertus variées telles que sympathie, empathie, solidarité, compassion, commisération, miséricorde.

Toutes ces vertus impliquent un don de soi, et le don de soi a le don de nous rappeler, encore une fois, que l'avènement de l'univers et de la vie est un immense don. Ce don qui tient sa promesse et qui ne trahit pas est en soi une éthique"

Cinq méditations sur la beauté
François Cheng

Cristina Rodriguez's studio in Geneva, 2013