Sandy Rodriguez

Statement of my work

 Beneath canopies of telephone and cable lines, my current works examine the Los Angeles Urban Landscape.  Sodium and mercury vapor streetlights illuminate views of apartments and single-family homes.  The silhouetted iconic Canary Island Imperial Palms included in many works stand in sharp contrast to the overgrown backyards with dilapidated sheds and abandoned cars, depicting an aspect of the city most familiar to its residents.  Sometimes I place myself in my work as a resident spector looking back at communities I have lived in. 

Recurring motifs of LAPD cars, helicopters, and surveillance cameras are set against neighborhood scenes of locally owned storefronts along Sunset and Hollywood Boulevard in Echo Park and Hollywood.  With the distant air traffic hovering past, these works present an alternative view of Los Angeles

The chosen color pallet evokes the peculiar yet particular light of Los Angeles atmospheres from the Eastside to the Westside. The paintings include the range of contemporary light and color from whiteout and smog-induced Technicolor sunsets; to crystal clear views of the LA basin.  Through my works I participate in a surveillance of Los Angeles in redevelopment.  My work has dealt with specific histories of place. This place, time and space that I inhabit is in continual redevelopment and is mirrored by my experimentation and approach to materiality of paint.