Mexico Bajo la Lluvia L2

Rojo belongs to a generation of Mexican artists who sought to break free from the creative stagnation brought by the institutionalization of Muralism by mid-century and its accompanying nationalist rhetoric. The 1980s marked a new phase in his practice. Unlike the abstract compositions of his earlier informalist style, which emphasized the painterly textures of basic geometric forms, these later works are based on a grid of small squares and triangles that transition into different colors. The kaleidoscopic geometric pattern of this four-color lithograph simultaneously recalls the fractal optical effects of perceptual art and the intricately woven designs of colorful textiles seen in the Cholula region of central Mexico. The series of works that Rojo produced in the 1980s is titled Mexico Bajo la Lluvia, after a visit to the town of Tonantzintla, in Cholula, on a rainy day.

Text credit: Produced in collaboration with the University of Maryland Department of Art History & Archaeology and Patricia Ortega-Miranda