Personal Ecologies: Yuko Oda and Allison Maria Rodriguez

Hynes Convention Center

April 25 - August 29, 2019

Reception: May 28th 6-8pm

Both Yuko Oda and Allison Maria Rodriguez create works inspired by intensely personal experiences contextualized in explorations of the natural environment. The complex and seemingly magical imagery in their works allow the viewer to simultaneously get lost in the linework, symbols, and juxtaposition of images while reflecting on larger issues such as life in the age of the Anthropocene.

Inspired by natural systems and organic processes, the imagery and forms in Yuko Oda’s drawings feel as though they are in the midst of change, part of a larger system at work. Petals appear to be wilting, falling, growing, and/or rejuvenating. Birds and butterflies fill some of the drawings, coming together and bursting apart. Are they migrating, mingling, or embracing a storm? The specific plants, birds, and colors she chooses are symbolic and often inspired by deeply personal revelations. The works are beautiful, yet pregnant with meaning, growth, decay, and the realities of life expressed through a rainbow of colors, uncanny textures, and delicate line work.

Allison Maria Rodriguez also draws from the natural environment and in the artist’s own words “focuses extensively on climate change, species extinction and the interconnectivity of existence.” The works featured in this exhibition are culled from two series of videos in which her playful use of collage and vibrant painterly colors create entrancing imagery. In the Presence of Absence incorporates experiences from Rodriguez’s own upbringing and Cuban-American identity while Legends Breathe draws from interviews with female-identified artists about fantasies that aid in coping with trauma. Both projects include images from the environment—birds, a tiger, a bear, a nest, trees, expansive skies—integrated with people and human made structures. They are both personal and broad in scope, merging natural and built environments to explore emotional landscapes.

Like Rodriguez, Oda’s intimate flat works are part of a larger body of work including sculptures, installations, and animations. Both artists are adept at creating immersive environments that allow the viewer to become fully absorbed in the ecologies they explore and expound upon. The flat works in this exhibition provide a different sort of intimacy allowing viewers to get lost in the careful details and subtleties of their work.

Personal Ecologies is on view April 25 - August 29, 2019 The exhibition is on view during the Hynes open hours. To assure access email artprogram@massconvention.com prior to your visit.
 

Above images: Top: Exit Freedom by Yuko Oda Bottom: Legends Breathe - Fairy Tales (video still) by Allison Maria Rodriguez