News and Media

Published: Jun 15, 2010

Blue Gallery, SCAD Lacoste, France
July 3-Aug. 28, Opening Reception, July 3, 6-8 p.m.

LACOSTE, France – The SCAD exhibitions department presents “Inner Glam” by SCAD graduate printmaking student Lucha Rodriguez, 2010-11 recipient of the prestigious Emerging Artist Award from the Forward Arts Foundation. Rodriguez is a rising star, and her work was recently featured with critical acclaim in “Generation SCAD,” the inaugural exhibition at SCAD’s new Hong Kong gallery. Her work was also awarded an exhibition prize as part of SCAD’s fourth annual “Encore Series” honoring juried finalists from the top M.F.A. thesis exhibitions of the past year. Viewers of the SCAD Lacoste summer exhibition program will experience the many degrees of resonance between Rodriguez and Nicholas Hlobo’s solo exhibitions on display in adjacent galleries at SCAD Lacoste this summer.

Rodriguez creates prints and wall installations of organic, abstract forms that reference the internal body. “Inner Glam” is a site-specific installation that focuses on Rodriguez’s interpretation of the internal as the inside of the body, represented by human organs. This installation reveals the experience of the internal, as a metaphysical state of the mind fomenting dialogue between science, metaphysics and consumerism. The work has the ability to navigate from the suggestive-representational to the abstract. The fabric’s simplicity is contrasted by the intricate hand-cutting work that transforms all surfaces into organic symbols of meditation and beauty.

“This work furthers her conceptual use of the color pink in beautiful prints and wall installations of organic, abstract forms that reference internal states of being,” said Laurie Farrell, SCAD executive director of exhibitions. “Rodriguez’s works communicate an emotional awareness, intimacy and immediacy that rarely come together so effectively in art.” “The aim of this work is to explore the various definitions and conceptions of the ‘internal,’ not only as related to the human body but also its relationship to the mind. It defines and constructs a place for meditation, creativity and self-examination, all actions encompassing private dialogue that claims the body as an intimate private space,” said Rodriguez.

Lucha Rodriguez was born in Caracas, Venezuela. She earned a B.F.A. in graphic design from The Art Institute of Atlanta in 2006, and an M.F.A. in printmaking from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2010. She has had recent solo and two-person exhibitions at Twist Gallery, Nashville, Tenn.; Gallery Stokes, Young Blood Gallery, and Art House Gallery, Atlanta, Ga. Rodriguez’s print work has been included in numerous group shows in Mexico, India, France and the United States. She has received much recognition for her work, including the Alexander Ink Creative Print Award, Savannah, Ga., 2008; the ARTlantis Best in Show award from Beep Beep Gallery, Atlanta, 2009; the Best in Show Award for the MOCA GA Annual Pin-Up Show, Atlanta, 2009.

Rodriguez is the 2010-11 recipient of the Emerging Artist Award from the Forward Arts Foundation. She will receive a $10,000 grant and a solo show at the Swan Coach House Gallery in August. Founded in 1965, the Forward Arts Foundation is a nonprofit organization that fosters and supports the visual arts in Atlanta and significantly influences the city's cultural landscape. The annual award, Atlanta's most competitive and highly sought after award for emerging artists, has launched the careers of many notable artists.

“Inner Glam” will be on view at Blue Gallery at SCAD Lacoste, France, from July 3-Aug. 28, 2010. Blue Gallery is located on Rue Trophime, 84480 Lacoste, France. The gallery hours are Monday through Friday, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m. and Saturdays, Noon-6 p.m.

The exhibition and reception are free and open to the public. For more information, visit www.scadexhibitions.com.