VISUAL ARTS + MUSEUMS

Rudolph Projects ArtScan Gallery is pleased to present Ecstatically Exuding Exuberance: Work by Matthew Rodriguez and Cody Ledvina. “Real seriousness rests in the comic.” Nicanor Parra. Opening reception Friday, February 5, from 6 – 8 pm. On view through March 6.

Rudolph Projects Artscan Gallery is pleased to present, “ECSTATICALLY EXUDING EXUBERANCE,” a show of two art jokesters, Matthew Rodriguez and Cody Ledvina. Both artists use humor as a mask to conceal a complex and sarcastic view of a world full of contradictions and absurdities. They deliberately disguise the weight of this world with both humor and finesse. The work that remains is a playful judgment of humanity and our place in the cosmos.

Matthew Rodriguez is an Austin based artist who creates beautiful and hilarious mixed media compositions with the detritus of city dwellers. The resulting works occupy the space somewhere between Dr. Seuss and Robert Rauschenberg. Matthew’s found object collages are full of cartoon figures inhabiting an urban environment very similar to the overlooked underbellies and alleyways of the world’s major cities. Although the characters are essentially monstrous, they are rendered with a child like sincerity that overshadows the thievery and corruption of Matthew’s narratives.

Cody Ledvina is a Houston based artist and curator. His drawings, paintings, sculptures and video works are playful and obtuse objects that are as silly as they are meaningful. In his world aliens, M & M characters, babies, Danny Devito, Whoopi Goldberg and Judge Judy are just as vital to our intellectual climate as is any artist, critic or philosopher. His worldview is all inclusive and often centers on the comedic aspect of existence. There is an inherent playfulness to his work that often confuses the viewer into thinking Cody is simply having a laugh at their expense. Looking at Cody's work is always a fun filled occasion. Cody is an artist continually digging through the cultural zeitgeist of silliness and finding profundity in the least likely spaces.