Today we’d like to introduce you to Rodrigo Tafur.
Hi Rodrigo, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I started my painting career very young in Lima. When I was 11 years old I got my first oil painting set with a small canvas; I remember that I ended up painting everything I had in my room back then. My bachellor degree is from the Pontificie Universidad Católica del Perú, where I specialised in Visual Arts for about 6 years (Thats how long the program was for), after that I had a studio in Barranco (a colorful neighborhood in Lima) for 5 years until I got accepted into Pratt Institute of New York where I finished my graduate degree in Fine Arts (Painting and Drawing) in 2023; since then Ive being working in my small studio in Brooklyn.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
I believe very few artists have a “smooth” road; the decision to be an artist is never a simple one; in my case, I decide every day. I believe that choosing this life has been one of the most gratifying choices Ive made; and also the most vulnerable.
My biggest struggle… leaving my country; leave family and friends behind to start from cero. Gladly I was not alone and came with my wife Maria who is a dancer and a choreographer.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
My practice explores the relationship between landscape, material, and perception primarily using oil paint on canvas, I construct landscapes that are partially hidden by dense fields of repeated painted marks. These textured gestures accumulate across the surface, creating tension between representation and material presence. While the landscape provides a recognizable structure, the emphasis remains on paint itself-its weight, texture, and rhythm.
The repeated marks disrupt the illusion of depth while building a new surface that asserts the painting as a physical presence. In this sense, the work prioritizes material over illusion and matter over memory. The landscape becomes a contextual framework through which the act of painting unfolds rather than a purely representational subject.
Process and repetition are central. The labor-intensive application of individual marks reflects patterns associated with obsession and anxiety. Each mark records time, gesture, and attention, creating a surface that is both meditative and overwhelming.
The work also considers how contemporary media and technology mediate our experience of nature. Much like digital pixels and filters, the repeated marks fragment and reassemble the landscape, echoing the way screens and images filter familiar environments. Questioning: how is perception really shaped?
What were you like growing up?
I was a very active kid; both my parents where practicing psycologists and my father also was a political journalist. I was always sorrounded by culture (Art, theatre, music, opera, dance, film) as a young boy I learned how to play the piano and to perform on stage. My mother is a Flamenco dancer and she was always inciting me and my brother to engage with different cultures and art practices.
At the same time, my father is still and travel maniac, I can proudly say Ive seen the world thanks to him. One interesting fact about me growing up, my family house had always 3 to 5 dogs.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: @rodrigo.tafur.studio
