Dagoberto Rodríguez: RETROPIA

The Museo de Arte y Diseño de Miramar (MADMi) announces its recent opening of RETROPIA, the new exhibition by Cuban artist Dagoberto Rodríguez. This is Rodríguez’ first solo show in a Latin American or Caribbean museum.

“We are very excited to welcome the work of an artist like Dagoberto Rodríguez to our museum. In the process of choosing the projects we exhibit in the MADMi galleries, we always look for work that is aligned with our curatorial vision, and Dagoberto’s work, with its use and implementation of elements from architecture, design, drawing, typography, and sculpture, intertwines perfectly with the themes our institution explores. We are honored to be able to present an artist of the international stature of Dagoberto Rodríguez in his first solo show in Puerto Rico,” said Nicole Pietri, MADMi director.

Born in Cuba and currently living in Madrid, Rodríguez was one of the founders of the collective Los Carpinteros, a central figure in contemporary Latin American art on an international level. As a member of Los Carpinteros, his works are included in such important collections as the MoMA, the Whitney Museum of American Art, and the Guggenheim Museum in New York, the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, the Tate Modern in London, and the Museo Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.

According to Diana Cuéllar Ledesma, the curator for RETROPIA at the MADMi, “the exhibition revolves around the series ‘Emblems,’ in which Dagoberto Rodríguez combines the ‘retro’ aesthetics and paraphernalia of classic American cars with a linguistic exploration of the politics and popular culture of Cuba. In the logos of old models of Ford, Chevrolet, and Pontiac, the names on the marques have been replaced by words or expressions taken from revolutionary rhetoric, political dissidence, and street talk.”

“The title is taken from the concept of ‘retrotopia,’ a term coined by Zygmunt Bauman to refer to the current historical juncture, in which the future is so threatening and uncertain that our desired utopia is projected into the past. The exaltation of nostalgia, however, is giving way to a dangerous resurgence of nationalist mythologies, the cult of political leaders, and critical identify affirmations. In that line, Dagoberto Rodríguez’ Retropia also seeks to stimulate critical thinking about subjects such as ideological extremisms and the seductions of consumerism,” Cuéllar Ledesma concluded.

RETROPIA opened to the public on Saturday, July 15, 2023 and will run through January 20, 2024. The museum is open Tuesday through Saturday from 10am to 5pm.