"Art is an Expression of Life" -Rolando Diaz

Rolando Diaz is a local artist in Dallas as well as internationally known for his cubist style. I first encountered his series of work called Vagabonds at South Side on Lamar's Janette Kennedy Gallery. The idea for this series came in part by Rolando's own personal experiences. 

Rolando Diaz in front of a painting in his series Vagabonds

The Communist spread in Cuba, where Rolando is originally from, inspired his family to leave their country when he was 8 years old. This created a shift between the comfortable life he knew in his home country to an impoverished state of being. After losing his father not long after, he learned how to adapt to life as a refugee and became ingrained with a sense of compassion to those living in poverty--an idea that is very intrinsic and motivational to his work. 

Vagabonds which was featured at the JK Gallery, is a powerful collection of works portraying the beauty of holding someone's gaze, someone who may go unnoticed. It's the separation of social classes looking at each other in the eyes and seeing them as a work of art.

I was fortunate enough to interview the artist about this series and discussed the eyes as a main feature of the portraits:

“When you spend time with people who have been in tough situations...the eyes tell you a lot. Some are very angry, some are very tender, some are hurt, there are all kinds of expressions that come when you spend time with a person in the streets from their eyes”

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Recently, Rolando has spent less time showing his work in galleries and has been more involved in performance art. Alongside musicians, he has created many paintings that are auctioned, with 50% of the proceeds going to a non-profit that helps keep art in school.

 On June 13, 2008,  he was the topic of a documentary called Recapturing Cuba featured on Art and Seek. The film captures the artist as he returns to Havana since he and his family left. Though, he may have physically moved from his home country, he has never forsaken the culture's influence on his art, nor forgotten those who he paints for.

If you would like to get more involved with the same charitable initiative Rolando has undertaken, visit http://www.citysquare.org/