The artistic practice of Rodrigo Hernández (Mexico City, 1983) develops from seemingly simple and rigorous elements—such as geometric shapes, straight and curved lines—which gradually intertwine to generate more complex and layered images. His compositions often extend beyond the boundaries of the pictorial surface, transforming into true spatial installations capable of engaging directly with the surrounding environment. Through perspectival plays and volumetric modulations, the artist challenges the viewer’s perception and the stability of the exhibition space. In this process, color assumes a fundamental role: chromatic areas amplify the optical effects produced by the interaction between straight lines and curvilinear forms, creating movement and depth.
The work A Possibilidade (The Possibility) presents itself as a kind of three-dimensional painting. Using cardboard, Hernández constructs forms that unfold across multiple levels, removing the painting from its traditional two-dimensionality and transforming it into an object that projects into space. Sharp, dark surfaces enter into dialogue with softer, curved elements characterized by bright colors such as yellow, light blue, and pink. From this tension between rigidity and softness, the silhouette of a human body gradually emerges, recognizable in the arms and the features of the face.
The figure is positioned along two corners of the composition: the vertex of the angle ideally divides the silhouette into two parts. On one side the surface is blue, on the other pink, symbolically suggesting a dual identity, respectively masculine and feminine. The notion of fluidity is therefore not only formal but also conceptual: two opposing dimensions merge into a single body, challenging rigid and fixed definitions.
Within the work, a contrast between two worlds can also be perceived: on one side the artificial realm, evoked by straight lines and dark tones such as grey and black; on the other, a more organic and vital dimension, characterized by bright colors and sinuous forms that generate the anthropomorphic presence.
The wall on which the work is installed also actively participates in the aesthetic process. Through an illusionistic play of light and dark panels arranged in a geometric pattern that in certain points appears to undulate, the space seems to lose its stability.
At times the work appears almost to dissolve into the wall, only to re-emerge more prominently. Even the edges of the painting are decorated with an alternating sequence of colored fields that extend and amplify the visual rhythm of the whole.
The viewer’s gaze is thus guided along a system of lines and chromatic contrasts that generate movement and dynamism. Depending on the vantage point, different decorations and stratifications of the painted surfaces can be perceived, making the work open to multiple interpretations and perspectives of reading, in constant dialogue with the space that surrounds it.

Rodrigo Hernández, A Possibilidade (The Possibility), 2018
cardboard, papier-maché, acrylic, oil color, 43x35x14,5 cm
Courtesy of the artist, ChertLüdde Gallery, Berlin; P420, Bologna; Tanya Bonakdar, New York.

Rodrigo Hernández, A Possibilidade (The Possibility), 2018, cardboard, papier-maché, acrylic, oil color, 43x35x14,5 cm
Courtesy of the artist, ChertLüdde Gallery, Berlin; P420, Bologna; Tanya Bonakdar, New York.

11/03/26