Mariano: Variations on a Theme

The artist Mariano Rodríguez—simply known as Mariano—is noted as one of the most influential artists from the second generation of Cuban modernists. In the exhibition “Mariano: Variations on a Theme,” six decades of paintings, drawings, and watercolors are on view, spanning Mariano’s career in an unprecedented presentation that includes rare and archival works loaned by leading collections. Inspired by Afro-Cuban culture, rural life, and the quotidian, the works on view demonstrate how Mariano’s wide-ranging creative approach yielded his unique blend of styles and “new postmodern” label, which was the product of influences like figuration, Abstract Expressionism, geometric abstraction, and grotesque imagery.