Mariano : Variations on Theme

Celebrate the brilliance, color, and soul of one of Cuba’s most visionary modernists in Mariano: Variations on a Theme — the vibrant bilingual catalog that brings six decades of artistic evolution to life. Step into the bold, electrifying world of Mariano Rodríguez (1912–1990) — the iconic painter known simply as Mariano, whose fearless creativity helped redefine Cuban identity on the global stage. Created to accompany the McMullen Museum’s major retrospective, this captivating volume offers an immersive journey through Mariano’s lifelong transformation, innovation, and deeply Cuban artistic voice.

From his fiery, unmistakable “gallo” (rooster) masterpieces to his daring leaps into abstraction, and later, his emotionally charged figurative works, Mariano: Variations on a Theme reveals an artist constantly in motion — experimenting, questioning, and reshaping the very meaning of “lo cubano.” Rich illustrations and insightful essays guide readers through every chapter of Mariano’s evolution. They explore his formative years shaped by Manuel Rodríguez Lozano and the Mexican School; his dynamic collaborations with Cuban intellectuals in the 1940s that helped establish a new cultural identity; his decisive shift from figuration to abstraction in the 1950s; his bold return to expressive and sometimes startling figuration in the 1960s; and his profound final decades, where personal experience and political context blended into compositions that were both intimate and expansive.

This catalogue paints a full, multidimensional portrait of an artist whose work fuses Cuban symbolism, modernist experimentation, and emotional depth into something unmistakably his own. Dynamic, intellectual, deeply Cuban, and visually exhilarating — Mariano: Variations on a Theme is a must-have for art lovers, collectors, scholars, and anyone drawn to the rhythm, passion, and spirit of modern Latin American art.

Step into Mariano’s world — and experience the evolution of a true pioneer.

Details

• Flexcover
• 190 pages
• Dimension: 1.1in x 0.83in x 9.06in