With free as well as free strokes it is also the inspiration of the artist, the Drappus series is born, whose colors predict a visual spectacle that captures, moves, revolutionizes and calms. Under the seal of Mario González Rodríguez, known in the artistic field as "Mallo", the personal exhibition Drappus represents a conceptual break with all the previous work of the Cuban painter.
The Provincial Center of Plastic Arts and Design of Havana will host the exhibition from October 20 to November 22 of this year and will be dedicated to the 40th anniversary of said center, as well as to the Day of Cuban Culture, the latter coinciding with the opening date of the series.
Made up of fourteen pieces - including two installations - the collection highlights the use of raw fabrics and breaks with the traditional routine of mounting them on the frame. Precisely, the search for a more contemporary and carefree style led Mallo to experiment with trends less seen in Cuban abstractionism art in the last decade.
“I observed how people had been working in New York or Europe and wanted to bring a bit of it to the island, but done from Havana. One of the installations is inspired by the daily life of Havana, in the lots of the capital with their sheets hung with sticks, an image that speaks of Cuba and its people ”, says Mallo.
Regarding the conceptual basis of the work, the artist explains: “At Drappus I wanted to sew and compose with raw fabrics. Emotional work is what characterizes this series and allows me to play with people's psychological states. I'm looking for something very complicated ... which is that play on words between the viewer and the work ”.
Indeed, Yeisa Sarduy, part of the audience attending the series inauguration, recognizes that Drappus is capable of touching an emotional chord. “The use of colors is quite striking and is consistent with everyday situations to which some pieces refer, as in the case of the one entitled 'Coffee'. The same thing happens in 'To the limit' ”.
In addition to a new conceptual routine for Mallo, Drappus is also a reflection of an exercise in introspection by the artist, a reunion with himself. “Confinement, as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, helped me to lock myself in the workshop and discover many things that I had pending. Among them, Drappus ”.
By Mabel Torres. October 21, 2021
More of Mario's artwork on this link.