Who would paint the walls of downtown Bogotá in very special colors and designs? Until a few days ago, this assignment was in charge of the mural painter, illustrator and graphic designer from the capital, Edgar Tito Rodriguez Acevedo, known as Rodez, but now someone else has to assume this responsibility, because the artist died at the age of 57, on January 22. The unfortunate event became known after three days and the cause of death has not yet been confirmed, but it is assumed that it could be related to COVID-19.
With this news, the country’s cultural sector is in mourning because the Rodez was one of the symbols of urban art in Latin America. The artist has devoted himself to this field since the end of the twentieth century and is considered the pioneer of street art (street art) in Colombia. In addition, he managed to paint over 50 books, from children’s stories to adult texts, and magazine covers Malpensante.
Rodriguez Acevedo’s career began in the mid-1980s when he was still young. The artist found his style and published his illustrations and painted murals in Bogotá very personal. His talent was indisputable, which is why, with not many years of experience, he became a university professor, in the 1990s, in the profession of graphic design at Jorge Tado Lozano University, the same institution from which he graduated.
In the academic world, Ródez was respected and admired by his students, the same ones who remember him fondly today and say he was one of the best teachers in the profession. Edgar Rodriguez Acevedo (Rodez) was a teacher of illustration and color theory. He was an unforgettable teacher, “said Jimena Rivera, one of his students, on Twitter.
Thus, in good standing, the artist’s career progressed until 2004 he was awarded the White Raven Prize for Editorial Design, an award given by the Munich International Library (Germany) for works of children and youth literature that present remarkable properties according to her. For their theme, originality and style. In the same year, he also won the National Steel Pencil Design Award in Colombia.
The consolidation of Rodez’s art career was also accompanied by his participation in the calls for urban art promoted by the Mayor of Bogotá. The neighborhood highlights the Urban Artistic Intervention Scholarship in Career 10, which was promoted by the District Institute of Art (Idartes) in 2014. On that occasion, Rodríguez won a work titled Dogs and Riders.
In recent years, Rodriguez Acevedo has given numerous workshops and lectures at universities in Mexico, Ecuador, Argentina, and the United States. At the end of his life, he was able to claim design and illustration awards in Colombia and around the world, in countries such as Brazil, Mexico, Czechoslovakia, Turkey, Germany, South Africa and Japan.
Not even the current pandemic era has prevented Rodez from making his art known. In 2020, he was the winner of the Idartes Urban Art in Contingency Award, in the interventions from home category, with the suggestion of Zigzag Kaleidoscope. In his work, Rodriguez used old sewing machine furniture as a support, recalling memories of his mother who “used to sew (my mother’s) dreams with her colorful threads and threads sprouting on a large chunk.”
Lamentation of the death of Rodez by the Bogotá and Edartes Secretariat for Culture, Entertainment and Sports and the Gilberto Alzati Avindaneo Foundation (Fuga).
“We send a message of condolence to his wife Patricia and children Christian David, Sebastian and other relatives. Rhodes’ work remains a legacy for artists who followed his career and the people who enjoy it today on the streets of Bogotá and other cities around the world,” the entities wrote on the Fuga website.
Directors of the academic institutions Rhodes, his students, and the magazine worked in Malpensante The artist’s colleagues also expressed their condolences on social media.
It may interest you:
At least 40% of Colombians said they would not be vaccinated against COVID-19
