Gamaliel Rodriguez’s exhibition “La Ruze de Alante” (The Light Fearn) is on display Sperone WestwaterIt is located in Bowery, New York, New York. The exhibition will be held on March 20th and will be held until April 26th, 2025. [This exhibition is held in loving memory of John T. Belk III.]
explanation: Sperone Westwater presents Puerto Rican artist Gamaliel Rodríguez’s first solo exhibition, “La Luz de Alante” (The Light After Afver). The show features recent works by Rodriguez, exploring themes of ecological transformation, colonial heritage and the unstable balance of Caribbean nature and industry.
The exhibition title refers to a Puerto Rican, who says “La Ruze de Alante es la que araumra.” “The light ahead is something that shines.” The phrase emphasizes the importance of taking initiatives and seizing opportunities rather than waiting for the perfect moment, a guide to Rodriguez’s work in navigating the complexities and artistic practices of life in Puerto Rico.
Over the past year, Rodriguez traveled to Guadeloupe to study the life of plants, where he compared cultures and landscapes. Through his paintings and large-scale drawings of graphite, acrylic and ballpoint pens, he depicts the evolving environment of the region. There, natural and artificial structures coexist in a fragile balance. His ghostly dystopian landscape is littered with fragments of industrial, religious and tourist buildings that have been essentially driven out, reflecting the economic and infrastructure collapse.
Works such asLight tree Rivistona Australia on the soil of Guadeloupe(2025) andBig Survival(2022) has a distinctly romantic sensibility, centering on tropical landscapes both as protagonists and as witnesses to sociopolitical change. The fluorescent depiction of Rodriguez’s plantain and breadfruit reminds us of their bewildered colonial history. They were introduced to Puerto Rico as a nutritional source for enslaved people. With paintings such asEl Incandecente Cocos Newtfella(2025), the sparkling palm trees appear to glow from within, hinting at both the pollution left behind by the energy company and the resilience of the island’s natural ecosystem. His work is forced to rethink these living beings, both as agents of history and as quiet observers of environmental changes.
“La Luz de Alante” (The Light Afvering) invites viewers to rethink the hidden narrative embedded in the Caribbean landscape, and raises urgent questions about Puerto Rico’s future on the face of US economic dependence and economic dependence, offering heartfelt meditation on the resilience, collapse, and the enduring power of nature.
Born in Puerto Rico Gamaliel Rodriguez He lives between PR Cabo Rojo and the Bronx, New York. He received his MFA from the Kent Institute for Art and Design in the UK (2005) and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Sagrado Colazone University, San Juan University (2004). In 2011 he attended the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture. The solo exhibition was presented at the Maine Contemporary Art Center (2023-24) in Rockland. Mass Moca (2020); Scad Museum of Art (2016) and Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico (2013). The collection owns Rodriguez’s art include the Cleveland Museum of Art. Colby College Art Museum, Waterville. Musac Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla, Spain. Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico;A museum in Boston. SCAD Museum, Savannah. Whitney Museum, New York.
For more information, please refer https://www.speronewestwater.com/ and https://www.speronewestwater.com/exhibitions/gamaliel-rodriguez#tab:slideshow;tab-1:slideshow; slide-1:2
[Shown above: “The natural source of light connected to an artificial live line,” 2025; and “El colmo de lo absurdo,” 2025.]
