by Scot Kelly

It has been awhile since I posted here, but sometimes life overtakes even simple things like blog posting. Last week I spent a week in Buenos Aires visiting friends with my family. As we toured “La Boca”, the old port section of Buenos Aires, which is now home to street artists and tango cafes, I met Nestor Rodriquez selling his unusual paintings. My eye was first captured by the following painting which Nestor explained was his interpretation of a tsunami:

Nestor is a self-taught painter, though he has studied at several painting studios in his time. He has also participated in many collective exhibitions and competitions both within and outside of Argentina. Notably he was the director of art for “Fundacion Canada” which was an art foundation created by the Royal Bank of Canada.

Nestor has an interesting philosophy concerning his paintings that may help the viewer interpret his diverse style. According to Nestor, “The reality of aesthetics connects with the presence of different elements inside painting, and with the existence of the picture-object concept.” He equates matter with the material used in creation and explains that as an expressive element, matter is the structural unit. The following painting uses aluminum as a canvas and blends the eminating metallic reflection with the overlaid paint in order to bring forth the structure that he speaks of:

When I asked Nestor which of his paintings on display he was most proud of, he handed me this last painting which I labeled “Aluminum Dust Swirls” (above). He hopes to do a larger canvas of the subject in the future.

If you happen to pass through Buenos Aires, take a stroll through puerto Boca and say hello to Nestor Rodriquez as well as check out and purchase some of his latest works.

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