Bio
Omar Rodriguez-Graham’s (b. Mexico City, 1978) artistic oeuvre crystallizes at the intersection of the recognizable and the abstract, constituted as an ongoing exploration that is manifest through a meticulous process rooted in the appropriation of historic paintings. Leveraging canonical works as an armature, Rodriguez-Graham digitally transfigures them into unrecognizable abstractions, modulations that culminates in large-format paintings replete with suggestions patchy skies, stark insignias, and vibrant regalia. In emulation of the calculated methodologies characteristic of Renaissance painters, he systematically allocates colors, textures, and techniques to construct each plane, thereby deepening the visual space of his canvases and consequently empowering them with contemporary abstract expressions that resonate with boldness, vitality, and emotion. His aesthetic synthesis engenders a nuanced dialogue with the great painters of history, and concurrently manifests an acute awareness of the relationship between the abstraction of the preceding seventy years and the techniques and movements of the past.
Residing in Mexico City, Rodriguez-Graham has exhibited internationally through individual as well as group exhibitions. Notable recent exhibitions include "La Interrogación de la Duda" at Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguerez (2023), "Ritmo Doble" at Max Estrella in Spain (2023), "La Struttura della Certezza" at Fondazione MACC in Italy (2023), and “Primer Ensayo” at Arróniz Arte Contemporaneo (Mexico, 2022). His work has been included in important museum exhibitions such as "El Hombre al Desnudo" at the National Museum of Art (Mexico, 2014), “Bella y Terca” at the Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico, 2010), the 15th Rufino Tamayo Painting Biennial at the Tamayo Museum (Mexico, 2012) and most recently “Pop, Punk, Politico” at the Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico, 2023). The global recognition of Rodriguez-Graham's work is attested by its inclusion in esteemed collections, including La Colección Jumex (Mexico), Museo de Arte Moderno (Mexico), Thoma Art Foundation (USA), Fondazione MACC (Italy), Progressive Art, (USA) and Fidelity Investments Art Collections (USA).
A distinguished alumnus of Drew University with a BA in 2003 and an MFA in Painting from Tyler School of Art in 2005, Rodriguez-Graham's artistic trajectory has been marked by being awarded of FONCA’s Sistema Nacional de Creadores as well as the Jovenes Creadores fellowships. His notable residencies encompass Fondazionne MACC (2019), The Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture (2013) and The Banff Centre (2010). With forthcoming projects, including a one-person exhibition at the Museo de Arte e Historia de Guanajuato (2024) and Sala de Arte Publico Siqueiros in Mexico (2025), Rodriguez-Graham continues to contribute meaningfully to the dynamic discourse within contemporary art, in Mexico and abroad.
The artist in the studio (2019)
Education
Tyler School of Art, M.F.A. in Painting, 2005
Drew University, B.A. in Visual Arts, 2003
Selected One Person Exhibitions
2025 Untitled, Sala de Arte Publica Siqueiros, México, México (Upcoming)
2024 Untitled, Museo de Arte e Historia de Guanajuato, Leon, México (Upcoming)
2023 La Interrogación de la Duda, Museo de Arte Abstracto Manuel Felguérez, Zacateca, México
2023 Ritmo Doble, Galería Max Estrella, Madrid, Spain
2023 Distillati, Galleria MACCA, Cagliari, Italy
2023 La Struttura della Certezza, Fondazionne MACC, Cagliari, Italy
2022 Omar Rodriguez-Graham, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2022 Primer Ensayo, Arróniz, Ciudad de México, México
2020 Omar Rodriguez-Graham, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2019 ARCO Madrid 2019, Arróniz, IFEMA, Madrid, España
2018 Zona Maco 2018, Arróniz, Centro CitiBanamex, Ciudad de México, México
2017 Tête-à-Tête, Drew University, Madison, U.S.A.
2017 Omar Rodriguez-Graham, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, New York, U.S.A.
2017 Painting After, Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de México, México
2016 Anamnesis, Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
2016 El Manto, Galería Macca, Cagliari, Italy
2016 Anamnesis, Casa del Lago, México, México
2015 Ráfagas, Wu Galería, Lima, Peru
2014 Eternal Return, Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de México, México
2013 Mise en Abyme, Nueveochenta, Bogota, Colombia
2012 Pintura Construida, Galería Libertad, Querétaro, México
2011 Variaciones Sobre un Tema, Arroniz Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de México, México
2008 Reposo, Museo de la Ciudad de Querétaro, Querétaro, México
2008 La Muerte Reina Bella y Melancólica, Galería Hilario Galguera, Ciudad de México, México
SELECTED Group EXHIBITIONS
2023 Nudos, Museo de Arte de Baja California Sur, La Paz, México.
2023 Pop, Político, Punk, Museo de Arte Moderno, Ciudad de México, México.
2021 Blue in Green, Arróniz Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de México, México.
2020 Duck Soup, Marc Straus Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2020 VS: Omar Rodriguez-Graham vs Jose Jimenez, Arróniz, Ciudad de México, México
2018 El Cordón Umbilical Retiniano III. Ontologías Pictóricas, Fundación ESPAC, México, México
2018 México: Pintura Reactiva, Museo de Arte Carrillo Gil, México, México
2018 NO PLACE: Berlin, Glint, Berlin, Alemania
2018 Pensamiento Especulativo, Fundación Calosa, Irapuato, Mexico
2017 Temporal, referencias al espacio, Arroniz Arte Contemporáneo, Mexico City, Mexico
2017 La Ciudad de Mexico en el Arte. Travesía de ocho siglos, Museo de la Ciudad de Mexico, Mexico
2015 El futuro no está escrito / The Future is Unwritten, Giorgio Cini Foundation, Florence, Italy
2015 Pararrayos, Embajada de Mexico en Berlin, Berlin, Germany
2014 El Hombre al Desnudo, Dimensiones de la masculinidad a partir de 1800, Museo Nacional de Arte, Ciudad de México, México
2013 Rudimentum, Christinger De Mayo, Zurich, Switzerland
2013 After the Object, Y Gallery, New York, U.S.A.
2012 XV Bienal de Pintura Rufino Tamayo, Museo Tamayo, Ciudad de México, México
2012 Sugar and Wood: New Paintings by Anna Membrino and Omar Rodriguez-Graham, Marty Walker Gallery, Dallas, U.S.A.
2012 Espacios Quebrantados, Arroniz Arte Contemporáneo, Ciudad de México, México
2010 Bella y Terca, Nueve Argumentos Sobre la Pintura, Museo de Arte Moderno, México City
2009 There are false problems more than there are false solutions more than there are false…, Proyectos Monclova, Monterrey, México
2009 IMPERIVM Capitulo I: Que Viva México!, Galeria Hilario Galguera, Spinerei, Leipzig, Germany
2008 Bienal De Queretaro, Julio Castillo, Galería Libertad, Querétaro, México
2008 Bienal Pedro Coronel, Museo Pedro Coronel, Zacatecas, México
2008 Salta La Liebre, Casa del Lago Juan José Arreola, Ciudad de México, México
SELECTED Bibliography
Maria Alvarez (Compiler), Reyes Retana, Luisa, Giner de los Rios, Enrique: Pintura: México, Vol. 1, Sicomoro Ediciones, 2017, Print
Maria Alvarez (Compiler), Kautz, Willy and Palacios, Victor: Anamnesis: Omar Rodriguez-Graham, Sicomoro Ediciones, 2017, PrintLuciano Benetton Collection (Compiler), Mexico. The future is unwritten. Contemporary artists from Mexico, Fabrica 2015. Print
Beers, Kurt (Compiler), 100 Painters of Tomorrow, Thames & Hudson 2014, p. 202-203. Print
El Hombre al Desnudo, Dimensiones de la masculinidad a partir de 1800, Museo Nacional de Arte, 2014, Print
Ostrander, Tobias (Compiler), Castillo, Erik and Perez, Daniela: Omar Rodriguez-Graham, Arroniz 2012. Print
Public Colections
La Colección Jumex, México
Museo de Arte Moderno, México
S.H.C.P., México
Space Collection, U.S.A.
Jorge Perez, U.S.A.
Fondazione Luciano Benetton Studio Ricerche, Italia
Fundación Calosa, México
Sigg Foundation, Switzerland
Fondazione MACC, Italia
Fidelity Investments Art Collection, U.S.A.
Arcadia Foundation, U.K.
Thoma Art Foundation, U.S.A.
Awards / Residencies
2006 FONCA Beca Jóvenes Creadores 2006-2007, México
2009 The Banff Centre , Banff, Canada
2013 FONCA Beca Jóvenes Creadores 2013-2014, México
2013 The Skowhegan School of Painting & Sculpture, Skowhegan, U.S.A.
2018 FONCA Sistema Nacional de Creadores 2018-2020, México
2019 Fondazione MACC, Italia