Blandus
George Rodriguez addresses sensitive sociopolitical issues through his highly ornamented figurative ceramic sculptures with a tongue in cheek ease that is evident in the sense of warmth his works convey. Themes of culture and identity recur throughout his sculpture, celebrating the unique attributes of diverse cultures as well as the similarities that unite us all. His series of large-scale sculptural ceramic heads reflect back on his interest in history and anticipate the expanded 'Urban Guardian' series several years later.
Gaius Rubellius Blandus was a Roman senator who lived during the Principate. Blandus was the grandson of Rubellius Blandus of Tibur, a member of the Equestrian class, who was the first Roman to teach rhetoric. He was suffect consul from August to December AD 18 with Marcus Vipstanus Gallus as his colleague. In AD 33, he married Julia Livia, granddaughter of the Roman emperor Tiberius. (Wikipedia)
For the 2016 exhibition, the artist offered this poetic interpretation of the artwork: "Committed to justice the beam sways in one direction. Strength is in the gaze but the charm’s not far behind. Absorbed in the surroundings, a chameleon with charisma."
