“Art should make you uncomfortable and provoke reflection”

“Many people believe that art is not necessary and see it only as entertainment, but human beings do not live solely on matter. They need to nourish the spirit, the soul,” says sculptor and ceramist Roberto Rodríguez Hernández, who opened a gallery and author’s store in Xalapa, Veracruz.

In interview for The Day In the context of the inauguration of the venue, he considers that at a time marked by the fragility of independent cultural spaces in the country, having a place like this is a commitment to meeting, reflecting and training audiences in a city with a long artistic tradition.

“Opening a space like this is educating the eye, showing people that there are other ways of looking and that, based on the reflections generated there, it is possible to think about life in a different way,” he comments.

“A place like this can connect the viewer with experiences they have lived and provoke recognition. That moment when someone says: ‘I thought this and now I confirm it’, produces pleasure,” he adds.

Although a gallery, he adds, “is also about placing the viewer in a restless, even uncomfortable feeling, because that is what art is about, provoking reflection, forcing them to look from another angle and become aware of what is happening around them.”

Originally from Misantla, Veracruz (1959), Rodríguez Hernández studied a bachelor’s degree in arts at the Universidad Veracruzana and a master’s degree in visual arts at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Throughout four decades of experience, he has participated in various exhibitions in Canada, the United States, Denmark and Japan.

For Rodríguez Hernández the borders between sculpture and ceramics are diluted during his creative process, because what is central for him is not the technique, but the idea that seeks to take shape. “Ceramics are a medium, like stone or wood,” explains the artist, for whom each material is a tool at the service of the concept.

Dialogue between emotion, intellect and sensations

The creator emphasizes that there is a question that precedes a piece: “what technique best reinforces what you want to express? Sometimes the answer is ceramics, due to the sensory closeness it establishes with the viewer; other times, wood, paper or textiles.”

During his creative process, the artist says, the most challenging part is the moment spent reflecting, conceiving the idea until clarity is reached. “Sometimes it happens that we do not reflect, we do not think, we do something and it turns out that it is not what we wanted to do, and we remain as we were at the beginning,” he warns.

Once the idea is conceived, he explains, work with the materials begins. “I don’t draw because I feel like it’s like copying myself. I go directly to the materials and many times they tell me the shape. It’s always a dialogue between emotion, intellect and sensations.”

Throughout 40 years as a sculptor and ceramist he has explored various materials and themes. His series stands out Totonacasmade of acalocote wood with different colors, an elongated silhouette and in various positions. “The first times I made them and presented them to the public they told me: ‘I like your African piece’ and I responded: ‘it’s totally Totonac’; unfortunately African things are better known than American things.”

Rincón de Imagens (Allende 68, Xalapa, Veracruz), inaugurated on February 9, includes works in ceramics, textiles and metalwork, and has two spaces: the first floor is an author’s store with pieces by Rodríguez Hernández and on the second floor there is a gallery that will show the work of artists that make up the local ecosystem, but also from other parts of the country.

“I am interested in giving an important space to the artistic movement of Xalapa and its surroundings, but also exhibiting what is done outside. It is important to see yourself from what is out there. Mirror yourself.”