Joven Caribeno, 2019, Walkind Rodriquez

Dominican Republic

Fine Art Print

8.25 x 11.7 in

A young Caribbean migrant who leaves the seed behind.

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Artist Bio:

Walkind Rodriguez was born on October 4, 1978 in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. He started drawing at a very young age and never stopped. He entered the School of Fine Arts of Santo Domingo in 1996 and then joined the Graphic Design School of Altos de Chavon in 1999.

In 2003, he took part in the National Biennial of Visual Arts in Santo Domingo and presented a solo exhibition at the Lyle O'Reitzel Gallery. The same year, he moved to France where he continued his artistic exploration and experimented with different mediums: ceramics, photography, music and dance. In 2006, he was awarded the honourable mention of the International Ceramics Triennial of the
Museum of Modern Art in Santo Domingo.

Since then he has established himself as an artist in France and abroad. In 2009, he exhibited in New York through the Parisian gallery Intemporel, during the Black Fine Art Show. In 2013, the Rio Loco international music festival and the Alban Minville cultural centre in Toulouse present an exhibition retracing the last ten years of his work.

Influenced from his early days by Afro-Caribbean sounds, Walkind Rodriguez gave new importance to music after his arrival in France. He collaborates with many musicians, particularly from the experimental scene and improvisation, by illustrating posters and record covers, and as a trumpeter and percussionist. The different groups he belongs to offer him a space for creative sharing where
new relationships between music and drawing are improvised, which nourish his graphic practice. He offers performances combining painting "in vivo", music and dance. He collaborates with many festivals: Jazz à Luz, Faîtes de l'Image, Rencontres des cinémas d'Amérique latine, Festival danses et continents noires, ...
In recent years, his work has been exhibited at the Théâtre du Pavé as part of the festival un Pavé dans le Jazz, as well as several venues dedicated to music.

Walkind Rodriguez scrutinizes the agitations of the world, plays with matter and offers us a work that invites us to take a step aside: "It is from the chaotic hubbub of the world that a polyrhythmic universe takes shape. My characters, inspired by jazz, Afro-futurism, sketch out merengue steps by producing a soundscape that expresses itself through ethnico-cosmic motifs. In the beginning I was a deserter ... I left my country. Since then I've learned to play the crossing of arts, cultures and influences."