Portfolio Review: Samuel Rodriguez's Innovative Canvases Push the Boundaries of Portraiture

"This piece was inspired by what my friends and I call 'interplanetary paisa.' I think a lot of times I try to approach creativity like George Clinton. I like how he transcended categorical thinking by combining nostalgic soul music with futuristic sounds. This piece is an example of me trying a similar approach through my point of view."

"This is dedicated to Bjork, who I think is one of the most relevant artists of our time."

"Here is an experiment that I see as a physical manifestation of digital imagery. I was inspired by data processing and the new ways in which we see people today."

"This was a wall I painted for the San José Museum of Art. They gave me free range, only asking that it be somehow dedicated to typography. Letters and faces are crucial signals of expression, which is why I combined them in this mural."

"This piece is another one inspired by hybridity. I mixed abstract forms through portraiture along with Roman Type and Arabic to emphasize co-existing moments. The human experience is a dynamic curiosity that is both scientific and emotional."

"This was an experimental piece inspired by flickering moments. Lately I have been steering away from painting illusions of glitch and geometric effects by manipulating hardware instead so that natural light will do the job. I am also interested in alternative ways of composing portraiture."

"I used a spray paint nozzle throughout this painting similar to what we used to take off oven cleaner. We used to call them 'soft ball caps' because the paint would flare out to that size. In this particular piece, I decided to use both portraiture and lettering as a starting point where I eventually distorted and blended both subjects and ended with some interesting results."

"For a while now I have been wanting to paint a series based on various musicians through my own artist lens because music has provided so much inspiration and therapy for me. In this one, I tried to do what a photograph couldn't."

"This piece is about skin tones being nothing more than swatches."

"This piece was done around the time of the 2012 Summer Olympics held in London. I get influenced by all types of external factors, so I couldn't help but absorb some of the sights from the broadcasted events."

"One of my favorite forms of music is the art of mixing, which is the process by which multiple recorded sounds are combined into one or more channels. I try to do the visual form of this through my work."

"This was inspired by the term 'mulatto,' a person of mixed white and black ancestry, especially a person with one white and one black parent. This applies to so many people, especially Latinos."

"The idea for this was based on the relationship between Mario and Luigi of the video game Super Mario Brothers. They are both unified and conflicted over who wins the Princess. They also must be high on shrooms."

"This was one of my early works about identity as it relates to style and culture. The painted dissections of the human face are intended to further emphasize and explore the idea of people as walking 'melting pots.'"