Born in Havana, Cuba, in 1975 and settled in Mallorca, Spain, in 1999, Ernesto starts his career in 2002 as editor at the atelier of maestro Joan Riera Ferrari. They become good friends, and Riera Ferrari involves Ernesto in the artistic scene of the island, getting in touch with its strong mediterranean culture, and specially with a craft deeply rooted in the tradition of the island, Ceramics. In 2002 he is admitted in “Ca’n Vermell Arts and Crafts Academy” of Felanitx to study Pottery and soon he stands out for his fresh creativity and his insolent technique. Gallery “Camí del Mar” quickly discovers Ernesto’s work and invites him to participate in his portfolio of emerging talents and in March 2006 he gets his first solo exhibition.
His first works are deeply influenced by the cultural tradition of the Mediterranean, but Ernesto dismantles the old pottery techniques and assembles back the process to create abstract figures, using different types of clay and enamels, giving the pieces lightness and movement. In 2012 he breaks with the convention and develops new ways to expand the eloquence of the materials; the figures grow in size as he abandons the original use of pottery as a craft and he moves into art and expressivity. This liberation becomes a whole new phase in his career, he starts to make anatomical studies of the human body, which become Ernesto’s hallmark.
These new serie, named “Iron Skin” is clearly figurative but is deeply influenced by the Impressionism. During the XX century Mallorca was one of the hotspots of this artistic wave,
many artists run away from the big European metropolis and moved to the island in the search for quietness, wild landscapes and the light of the Mediterranean. This fact combined with the economic boom of the Mallorcan touristic industry favored the continuity of this vanguard, influencing the new generation of artists.
In this pieces Ernesto maximizes the virtues and limitations of ceramics to articulate his artistic speech as impressionists expanded the capacity of oil painting to represent the interaction of light and human perception. The plasticity of raw clay allows him to shape light figures with details full of spirit and movement, and the fragility of the baked clay turn the pieces into empty shells with solid appearance in one hand, but extremely delicate in the other.
“The dual nature of clay helps me represent the armor of the human hollow: a tough-looking carapace that is in fact, extremely fragile, and because of that it is bound by nature to a continuous self-healing process. I intentionally break my figures and put the pieces back together because that’s our soul’s everyday routine.”
This new style consolidates Ernesto’s artistic career, in less than 2 years he will double the number of exhibitions, participating in important events such as “Nit del Art de Palma” 2013
(Nuit Blanche) or in relevant spaces such as Museu Ca’n Prunera, that holds the collection of the local media tycoon Pere Serra. In 2017 he participates in 11 exhibitions, 7 of them solo, and also, he gets his first international exhibition at Flussreif Gallerie of Zurich. Also 2017 is a bad year, his friend and mentor, maestro Joan Riera Ferrari dies at the age of 74 after a fulminant disease. Ernesto is terribly affected by the loss, and of course, also his work. He stops making anatomy studies, instead he uses the broken pieces of his figures to create a brand new serie called “Forest of the nosies”. Seems like the human soul is not able to recompose its shell: in the nude, visible, vulnerable, it sits on the small tree build with the few pieces it has been able to put together.
Also, he starts flirting with painting, a brand-new creative universe he had hardly paid attention to before. He makes a serie of 32 small-sized paintings using the engraving paper of Joan Riera Ferrari. This serie, named “Scriptless Papers” is really dark, saturated with different materials and techniques. He uses pure pigment powder to enhance the expression of colors, the paper is absolutely saturated, covered from edge to edge with what he calls “Materia”. It is a horror vacui that becomes a blasting blow off-valve for Ernesto’s sorrow.
This serie gives rise to new ones such as “Clouds”, “Reefs” or “Reverse flood”, since that very moment Ernesto has combined sculpture and painting. Of course, he returned to making anatomic studies, he pinches the surface while molding it so the shapes become vibrant, clearly a fact that shows maturity and self-determination.
In 2017 Ernesto starts organizing a yearly charity event in collaboration with his close friends Cristina Pérez and Gerhard Schwaiger. Awarded with 2 Michelin stars, they manage, as maître and chef, the restaurant “Schwaiger Xino’s” in Palma. This event, called Schwaig·Art combines art, music, enology and gastronomy to raise funds for charity organizations such as AECC (Spanish Association Against Cancer) in 2017 and RANA Foundation (Abused Child Support Network) in 2018.
CV
2019
Solo, "Pell de ferro”, Puerto Portals, January
Collective, Hotel Bendinat, March
Solo, Hotel Bendinat, May
Solo, Galeria Marimón, July
Solo, Schwaig·Art, September
2018
Solo, "Pell de ferro", Christmas Market, Pueblo Español, December
Solo, “Ingravidez”, “8 pensamientos”, “Bosque de los Curiosos” , “Schwaig·Art, September
Collective, Passion Baleart, Edsvik Kontshall, Estocolmo, August
Solo, “Pell de ferro”, Espacio Gastrocultural Ca’n Quet Deià, May
Collective, Hotel Bendinat, May
2017
Solo, "Pell de ferro", Christmas Market Pueblo Español, December
Solo, "Papeles sin guión", Laudat Santanyi, November
Solo, "Pell de ferro", Galeria Marimón, October
Collective, Hotel Bendinat - September
Collective, “Passion Baleart”, Flussreif Galerie, Bremgarten - August
Collective, “Retorn II”, Galeria Marimón - July
Solo, “Pell de ferro”, Casal Cultural Santa Margalida - July
Collective, “Artdemossa”, Galeria JustArt, Valldemossa - July
Solo, “Doble cubicaje” y “Papeles sin guión”, Schwaig·Art - June
Solo, Restaurante Oliu - June
Solo, “Pell de ferro” AC La Agrícola - April
2016
Collective, Nit de l’Art del Nuevo Pueblo Español - September
Collective, Hotel Bendinat - August
Collective, "Mar de Culturas III" Nixe Palace - June
Collective, Galería Ra del Rey, Madrid - February
Collective, Muy frágil, Galería Pep Llabrés - Palma - January
2015
Solo, Colegio Abogados de Baleares - November
Solo, Serenates a l'Auba, AC Riera Ferrari - July
Collective, Reserva Rotana, Manacor - JuneCollective, Hotel Bendinat, Palma - May
Solo, "Minotauro" AC La Agrícola - April
Solo, ”Y del barro hizo al Hombre" Claustro Sant Vicenç Ferrer, Manacor - March
2014
Collective, "Mar de Culturas II" Nixe Palace - December
Installation, ”Marea Humana”, AC Riera Ferrari - August
Collective, Reserva Rotana, Manacor - June
Collective, Centre Cultural Costa Nord - April
Solo, ”Intrigas Palaciegas" Galeria Marimón - April
2013
Solo, ”Cerámicas y Dibujos" AC La Agrícola - Dicembre
Solo, Nit del Art Palma, Galería Marimón - September
Solo, Rte. Santi Taura, Palma - September
Instalación, ”Nubes" AC Riera Ferrari, Manacor - August
Collective, ”Isla de Mar" Reserva Rotana - April
Collective, Museu Ca'n Prunera - March
Collective, ”Un Mar de Culturas I”, Nixe Palace - March
2012
Collective, Galeria Marimón - November
Collective, Galeria Marimón - August
Installation, "Regatas" AC Riera Ferrari - August
Solo, Fundación Torrens Lladó, Palma - March
Solo, Mutz Club Portals, March
2011
Solo, "Ceràmica" AC La Agrícola - October
Collective Fundación Riera Ferrari - August
Collective Galeria Marimón - June
2009
Collective Son Quint Golf, Palma
Solo Galería Estil Art, Palma
2008
Solo Casal Can Pere Ignaci, Campos
Collective Galería Sacman, Manacor - March
2007
Collective Galería Marimón - December
Collective Galería Camí del Mar - September
Collective Fundación Riera Ferrari - August
2006
Collective Galería Camí del Mar - October
Collective Centro Cultural, Felanitx - August
Collective Galería Camí del Mar - March
Additional Informationen:
Web:
www.ernestorodriguez.art
www.ernestorodriguez.es
Facebook: Ernesto Rodriguez Nogueira
Instagram: ernestorodriguezesc
E-Mail: info@ernestorodriguez.es
Tel: +34 669 422 482