ART CITIES:N.York-Fernando Palma Rodríguez

Fernando Palma Rodriguez typically uses visual motifs of nature, constructed with found manufactured materials such as scrap metal and often animating these elements mechanically. By presenting these striking juxtapositions he evokes the environmental ramifications of 20th Century neo-liberal economics, reconciling these physical transformations with indigenous cultural identity, practice and presence.

By Efi Michalarou
Photo: MoMA Archive

The first US solo museum exhibition of Fernando Palma Rodríguezi is on presentation at MoMA PS1. The sculptures consists of scrap tin from discarded soda and beer cans, cut into the shape of butterflies. The figures are mounted on to wires, connected to a base which intermittently moves the mounted figures creating staggered waves of movement. The backs of the butterflies bear iconic fonts, prints and brand names, conspicuous when seen from above. The platform displaying the sculpture encourages such a view. By rendering nature through overtly commercial, manufactured material Palma Rodriguez finds a kind of harmony and beauty in the conditions rendered by capitalism which has come to inform our contemporary ways of seeing, and engagements with culture at large. Initially trained as a mechanical engineer in Mexico, Palma Rodriguez made a foray into the fine arts in the early 90s, studying sculpture in London and later completing a residency at the Rijksakademie in Amsterdam.  He later co-founded the Calpull Tecalo civil association of the San Pedro Atocpan community with his mother and sister. The organization is a community-based not-for-profit that works to preserve Nahuan language, history, and cultural practices. His works respond to issues facing indigenous communities in Mexico, addressing human and land rights, including the violent targeting of these communities, and urgent environmental crises. These concerns have particular significance to the district of Milpa Alta, an agricultural region outside of Mexico City where Palma Rodríguez lives and runs Calpulli Tecalco, a non-profit organization dedicated to the preservation of indigenous culture. Both the symbols and animated movements of Palma Rodríguez’s sculptures are rooted in Nahua culture and language. Drawing on Aztec mythology and pictorial codices—as well as colonial histories—his works reframe language through the physical activation of these symbols, which function as both image and text. Palma Rodríguez also brings ancient technologies, such as agricultural techniques, into relation with new ones, such as computer programming, to create direct lines of exchange between the past and the present. Central to the artist’s practice is an emphasis on indigenous ancestral knowledge, both as an integral part of contemporary life and a way of shaping the future. In his work, he brings together evolving traditions with present-day concerns through a mix of cultural references and materials, from robotic constructions and found objects (work boots and sewing machines) to organic materials (seeds, soil, and feathers). Through their constant and complex movements, Palma Rodríguez’s works transform seemingly static symbols into active agents. Several artworks in the exhibition have been recently restored in collaboration with engineering students at Universidad Tecnológica de Valles Centrales de Oaxaca as part of his recent retrospective exhibition at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Oaxaca, Guex Liu, Kuu ñunro, Totlahuan, organized by Oliver Martínez Kandt.

Info: Curator: Ruba Katrib, MoMA PS1, 22-25 Jackson Ave, Queens, New York, Duration 15/4-3/9/18, Days & Hours: Mon & Thu-Sun 12:00-18:00, www.moma.org