Circulo de Amigos

Artist: Carlos Rodríguez 26″ x 22″ Hand-pulled serigraph 15 colors including 5 clay based inks Coventry rag 320gsm Deckled edges Edition of 75 From the Artist: My new serigraph uses Mexican clay as a source of inspiration.  Circle of Friends is a popular motif in traditional Mexican crafts and ceramics. You can find early versions of this concept at the Anthropology Museum in Mexico City, usually a group of five figures with interlocked arms. People coming together around a fire is one of the oldest and most recurrent images in our psyche; related with friendship, fratteneity and community. It’s a celebration of the bonds shared with our close friends; the fire represents wisdom, and the joy of life. Serio Press and I have spent over a year developing this process, finding the right people who can help us collect Mexican clay and then developing and testing the new inks, choosing the design (changed several times) and finally printing the news serigraph. Thank you to everyone who helped make it possible! From the Studio: Our second edition with Carlos Rodríguez explores clay as a printing medium. Sourced from five different regions across Mexico (Oaxaca, Sonora, Hidalgo, Zacatecas, and Tonalá), each brings its own distinctive color, mineral composition and texture. Clay was shipped to our studio in the form of sun dried sculptures since it can't be shipped raw across international borders. Upon arrival, we ground the sculptures into pigment, and used it to create five different clay inks. Used to color the five figures in the artwork, the clay inks impart a natural, sandy texture and a beautiful range of earthen colors.  Serio Press is delighted to present this edition that utilizes printmaking and ceramics in a new synergistic way. Artist Bio: Carlos Rodríguez is a self-taught artist whose work is motivated by curiosity and the pull of destiny. He 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. Rodríguez’s cast of male characters explore their feelings, relationships and sexual desires in a way that is intimate and deeply personal. Based in Mexico City, Carlos Rodríguez 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.  Carlos Rodríguez website      |      Carlos Rodríguez IG