June 4 - July 24, 2021
From the Latino Cultural Center:
“The Latino Cultural Center is pleased to present artist Raul Rodriguez in his first solo exhibition titled Marine Park, showing his recent work created from 2019 to 2021. Marine Park is a photographic series centering around a Fort Worth skatepark that local skateboarders have found both community and solace in. The photographs share the faces and details that can be found in an otherwise desolate and makeshift course that many low income communities may experience. The exhibition will take place June 4 through July 24. The work will be on display in the Latino Cultural Center’s MPR Gallery. Visit https://lcc.dallasculture.org/ to book a reservation and for further updates.
Artist Statement
During the cultural inception of skateboarding in America, the portrayal of skateboarders was often one dimensional. Despite its seemingly welcoming nature, skateboarding focused on the white, suburban youth market. But over the last 3 decades and with media exposure and more skaters of color, the once considered “white boy sport” is now a growing outlet for other communities with a need to express themselves through the medium. Today, the continuing integration and accessibility of skateboarding has changed ideas of who a skateboarder can be.
Marine Park is a photographic series centering around a Fort Worth skatepark that local skateboarders have found both community and solace in. The photographs share the faces and details that can be found in an otherwise desolate and makeshift course that many lower income communities may experience.
“Over the last two years I have returned to this place to document, take part and capture the beauty found at Marine Park, the idiosyncrasies of skateboarding culture and the visual language it speaks through a group of people that have embraced its lifestyle.” – Raul Rodriguez, 2021
About the Artist
Raul Rodriguez is a photographer, artist, curator and educator from Fort Worth, Texas. He graduated with a BFA from the University of North Texas College of Visual Arts and Design with a focus in Photography. As an artist he investigates communities and cultures like skateboarding, boxing, and Lucha Libre, as well as social justice topics linked to the Latino identity. His projects reveal the layers and complexities of his personal and cultural experience as a first generation Mexican-American. His work has been exhibited in galleries and spaces including the Fort Worth Community Arts Center, Fort Works Art, The Oak Cliff Cultural Art Center, Southern Methodist University and the Latinx Project at New York University. He has worked with museums and organizations like Make Art with Purpose, the Dallas Museum of Art, the Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth and the Amon Carter Museum of American Art. In 2020, Raul received the Nasher Sculpture Center Artist Grant for his photographic community platform, Deep Red Press focusing on underrepresented artists in Texas.
About the Latino Cultural Center
The mission of the Latino Cultural Center (LCC) is to serve as a regional catalyst for the preservation, development, and promotion of Latino and Hispanic arts and culture. The LCC was established with the vision of providing artists, cultural organizations and the Latino community with a venue to celebrate cultural traditions and present both contemporary and historical artworks in all artistic disciplines. The year-round season of programs include visual arts exhibitions, film screenings, music and dance performances, theater productions, workshops, and summer youth art camps. The LCC is a division of the City of Dallas Office of Cultural Affairs.
The exhibition Marine Park will be on view June 4 through July 24, 2021 at the Latino Cultural Center located at 2600 Live Oak St. in Dallas, TX. Book an appointment at https://lcc.dallasculture.org/ or call 214.671.0045″
On View: June 4, 2021 | 1–5 pm
2600 Live Oak
Dallas, 75204 TX
(214) 671-0045
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