Description
‘Glorious Stray’ by Diego de la Rosa
Artist: Diego de la Rosa
Title: ‘Glorious Stray’
Medium: Oil and acrylic on paper
Dimensions: Artwork size: 10″ x 7″ (Paper size: 12″ x 9″)
Framing: Unframed
Year of Creation: 2024
About the Artwork:
“Inspired by Rufino Tamayo’s painting on dogs as reflection of the human condition, I used the image of stray dog as a symbol of struggle and perseverance with faced with social abandonment. Much like the stray dogs that roam the streets of my country, Venezuelans have to survive in the midst of chaos and uncertainty. We persevere despite the odds. We survive.” – Diego de la Rosa
About the Artist:
(Artist Bio)
Diego De la Rosa’s work explores the cultural impact of the social crisis in his native country, and relies on symbolism to explore the ideas and sentiments born from this reality. His process involves the collection of found imagery of people and places from Venezuela that are then rearranged into painted narratives full of imaginative elements, such as giants, theatrical atmosphere, and fantastical characters. The source imagery represents the perceived reality, while the painting tactics embody the values and ideas that are employed to create a reading for these circumstances. The use of allegory in his paintings provides an artistic translation of social concepts similar to the interpretative approach of an anthropological study. He uses these painted scenarios to illustrate both the cultural notions surrounding the crisis, and critical theories on frustration, resilience, the desire for change and the search for meaning, which he employs to analyze the subject at hand. Through his work, De la Rosa creates images that universalize issues of identity, resilience, and social struggle, evoking empathy in societies so distant from his own.