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=Rodrigo de la Sierra= The meteoric rise to success in the Mexican art world of sculptor Rodrigo de la Sierra is as unusual as is fortunate. A trained and successful architect, De la Sierra never gave up on his original dream of becoming an artist. After a few lessons on the lost wax techniques. De la Sierra started to chisel away on wood, then on wax and slowly, created Timo, his alter ego super hero who jumped off the sketching pad to represent all of the artists dreams, wishes and ideas. This seemingly jovial and playful figure -always cast in a pale gray patina bronze- seems to be the epitome of the likeness of being, but upon careful study, the artist has sneaked in subtle criticism of today's society; Timo dancing on top of the world -but over someone else's body.....

Born in Mexico City in 1971, where he continues to live and work, in just 6 short years, the artist has been on the final selection of the Toyamura, Hokkaido, Japan sculpture biennial, has had numerous solo and collective exhibitions in galleries in Mexico City, Acapulco, San Miguel de Allende, Valle de Bravo, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas. After a group exhibition in a Mexico City museum, De la Sierra held a solo exhibition in the Museo de la Ciudad de Queretaro. Just last year he held his first solo exhibition in the prestigious Galleria Il Ponte Contemporanea in Rome, Italy, appearing in several TV art programs and with a lengthy critique by none other than Europe's uber critic, Achille Bonito Oliva. The European stand that showed his work at April's MACO -the Mexico City International Art Fair- sold out his work and had to take orders. He has been invited to a solo exhibition for this coming fall in the Mexico City museum, Museo del Arcobiscado and will appear in Spoleto this coming autumn/winter. In September 2013, he's showing his work in the United States for the first time at the Chicago Art Expo. De la Sierra's work has entered private and public collections in Mexico, Canada, the United States and Italy.

Rodrigo de la Sierra: From the Ludicrous to the Conceptual
Rodrigo de la Sierra's recent European exhibition seems to have fueled his creative juices presenting us with a new group of ever more ludicrous and often conceptual new Timo 's. From Timo, playing out his life on a graffiti wall, to Timo 's illusion's of flying on a paper plane.There are some larger than life Timo's, one of the “ego” sculptures previously seen in a smallerformat, a circus Timo with a clown's nose, created for a Mexico City exhibition featuring thecircus as the leit motif, a giant Timo doing a balancing act on a penny, etc.Always an optimist, even when, with great compassion and no small amount of humor, De laSierra never fails to gently illustrate our human foibles through the interpretation of his alterego: Timo.

Timo & the likeness of being
De la Sierra refers to Timo as everybody’s man, somewhat of an alter ego. With a closer study of this character one sees a seemingly comic veneer interpreting some real serious stuff. While still a full time architect, De la Sierra gives birth to Timo towards the end of 2006, with a small wooden sculpture of Timo leaning on the world: “Reaching my Universe”, but this little man really arrives on the art scene during the beginning of the global economic crisis, the banking crisis and the closing of a major investment bank. The artist creates the money series in a pale bronze patina, between 2008 and 2009 and all depict Timo in money situations, either dancing on or with a balancing actwith an American penny, all seemingly ludicrous and playful, but on closer examination, very serious in their content. The pale patinas on the bronzes are purposely chosen to further underline the subject’s lightness of being. During this same period the news is inundated with foreclosures, labor strikes and growing numbers of unemployment and so (Modern Times) “Timo y Los Tiempos Modernos” is born, a pale, ivory colored resin installation depicting many little assembly line Timos hard at work on pipes, fuses and wrenches with the last figures in a desperate attempt to escape. Many successful works follow, from playful to metaphors of more serious issues. Although it is obvious the artist is very much affected by the world’s vicissitudes, a few less profound Timo’s pop up from time to time such as “Equilibrium” (Equilibrium) showing a Timo hop-.scotching over the world or inspired by the 2010 FIFA World Cup, “El Mundo es un Juego” (The World is a game), showing Timo performing a Maradona back-kick with the globe. In more serious moments, the artist has created several works dealing with man’s conscience. During this same period he creates a set of five, large, translucent resin eggs, each with Timo inside in various situations, from birth to death. These eggs are balancing on a plinth with a ray of light shining from below and within; this work is startling and profound. More recent works include a group of studies dealing with the on-going battle in the Middle East and, greatly moved by the Arab Spring, De la Sierra comes up with a stunning drawing and maquette for a majorwork depicting a black, bronze death figure marching behind (at a distance) a group of banner bearing soldiers, all helmet-wearing Timos in the baroque tradition of the memento mori. His latest oeuvre is based on the human ego and all its ramifications. The obvious charm in all these pieces is almost obfuscated by the serious message in each, while some works flirt with the surreal. The unusual effect of Timo-gazing is that children find the sculptures playful and charming while adults, especially collectors are literally mesmerized by this iconic figure and the meaning and interpretation behind each work. Where the artist will go with this figure personality and for how long, is a mute question. But then, does an alter ego ever die? As long as life’s events continue to supply De la Sierra with heart-felt situations which so definitely affect our lives, you and I and the every-day little man will be mirrored in Timo. Category:Arts Category:Conceptual art Category:Sculptors Category:Contemporary artists Category:Contemporary art