‘Positive and hopeful creations’
Justo Rodriguez has no qualms about sharing his thoughts with others.
His artwork is spiritual and philosophical. “There’s meaning behind it,” he said. The meanings represent his own personal journey as he searches and tries to understand different faiths as well as cultures.
He has come to the conclusion that, “It doesn’t matter how you kick the ball; the target is the same” and, “Loving mothers are the same everywhere,” and his art shows how things are different yet ultimately the same.
“I want to educate people and show them different cultures and the similarities,” he said, “I want to make and put out positive and hopeful creations.”
His work depicts deities, iconic figures, politics and cultural issues. They mingle together, almost as if they are swapping stories. They are bold illustrations of the world today and its many colors.
Rodriguez uses mixed media, acrylics, oils and spray paint. He works on walls doing murals and on canvas. He silkscreens T-shirts and paints hats. He also writes poetry. “I have a hand in everything,” he said.
Rodriguez, 28, was born to Cuban parents and raised in Florida. At the age of 13, he was an orphan and emotionally struggling. A therapist recognized his love for art and pushed him to continue his creative endeavors. He went on to study at New World School of the Arts in Miami and then the University of Florida, where he earned a Bachelors of Fine Art Degree in painting with a emphasis in illustration.
Now he illustrates his findings from the world around him, focusing on urban life and the mix found within. He has shown his work in galleries and festivals in Florida and his murals decorate walls in New York and Florida.
Rodriguez has settled in Spokane with his wife, Rachel, and his 1-year-old daughter, Ivis. His day job is as a cafe manager, and Rachel is a legal assistant in a law firm. Together they began “Upful Creations,” a business that does “good works” and specializes in things made with “love and integrity” including Rodriguez’s commissioned murals, paintings and T-shirts, and Rachel’s jewelry and unique baby carriers. They plan to move into a larger home, where they will have more space to create and continue to spread their messages of hope through upward creations.
Rodriguez explains in his artist’s statement: “My art reflects the essence of my true thoughts and what I view around me. My perspective is unique: I am a man, a Cuban, an artist, an activist and a graffiti artist. My experience is diversity: I come from the inner city, I’ve spent most of my life in mainstream America and I’ve come to know both worlds and their people. My struggle is for the education of society, acceptance and inclusion of non mainstream thoughts; and, against racism, political absurdities and injustice. … My belief is that one must empower oneself with one’s own truth to be able to educate and promote a better world. …”