Mariano

This bilingual catalog accompanies a retrospective exhibition of Cuban modernist painter Mariano Rodrguez (191290). The artist, known simply as Mariano, explored variations on central themes that reappeared and evolved throughout his lifetime, most famously his iconic gallo (rooster) paintings. The McMullen Museums exhibition and catalog offer an expanded look into Marianos six-decade career from interdisciplinary perspectives. Essays consider Marianos formative association with Manuel Rodrguez Lozano and the Mexican School in the thirties and the symbiotic relationship that developed between Mariano and Cuban intellectuals to create a rich cultural history in the forties. The catalog discusses Marianos shift from figuration to abstraction in the fifties and his return to figuration with startling grotesque imagery in the sixties. There is also a focus on Marianos final period, which explores the individual and the collective, both compositionally and politically, in the seventies and eighties. Together, these essays illuminate both Marianos rootedness in traditional forms of Cuban symbolism and his forging of a unique style that came to characterize his work beyond lo cubano.