Outside/In

New Orleans Museum of Art
March 2018

March 16 – August 26, 2018

A continuation of a project begun in 2016 at the Museo de Arte de Ponce in Puerto Rico, Rolón’s project for NOMA explores the rich connections between New Orleans, Latin America, and the Caribbean through allusions to each region’s natural and built environments, bridging the divide between outside and inside, public and private, and local and global. Outside/In features work that combines an exuberant tropical flora with installations composed of fences and fragmented mirrors that offer opportunities for self-reflection and community engagement. A central component of this exhibition is Rolón’s Nomadic Habitat (Hustleman), a mobile cart inspired by the street vendors of New Orleans and the Caribbean that speaks to themes of class, commerce, immigration and survival. The cart will be activated by local artist collectives and community partner organizations on select days throughout the run of the exhibition.


Individual Works

Great Hall, New Orleans Museum of Art

Year
2018

Great Hall, New Orleans Museum of Art

Installation view: Outside/In, New Orleans Museum of Art

Year
2018

Installation view: Outside/In, New Orleans Museum of Art

Year
2018

Installation view: Outside/In, New Orleans Museum of Art

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence V)

Year
2018
Media
Oil, imitation gold leaf on canvas
Dimensions
96" x 72”

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence V)

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence VIII)

Year
2018
Media
Oil, ink and 24K gold leaf on canvas
Dimensions
50" x 50"

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence VIII)

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence IX)

Year
2018
Media
Oil, ink, and 24K gold on polyester canvas
Dimensions
50" x 50"

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence IX)

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence II)

Year
2016
Media
Oil and 24K gold leaf on canvas
Dimensions
72” x 54”

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence II)

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence IV)

Year
2016
Media
Oil and 24K gold leaf on canvas
Dimensions
96" x 72”

Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence III)

Year
2016
Media
Oil and 24K gold leaf on canvas
Dimensions
72” x 54”

These new Oil paintings are inspired and based on indigenous flora and
vegetation that grow in both the Caribbean and throughout the Gulf of Mexico.
The colonial discovery of gold in Puerto Rico by the Spaniards (who also
brought North African Moors and Jews) were taken from the river Manatuabon
by Ponce surrounded by exotic tropical floral and vegetation. Enough gold was
mined until 1530 to establish over $4 million in Spanish bullion. Hence the use
of real 24kt gold leaf on the paintings. These new works are meant to carry hope
that contain melancholic notes of the past that was created by pillaging the
natural landscape to find gold and currency. This is my re-imagined
replacement of untouched territory that contained magical moments of natural
beauty that lived and breathed on top of minerals that eventually brought wealth
and abundance to a particular culture.

Gold leaf has been burnished and given a satin finish to give the gold a uniformed distressed look.


Gild the Lily (Decadence Upon Decadence III)