Opening on December 2nd, Germán Rojas’ first solo show titled A Dimly Lit Path leaves the viewer with a sense of wonder and an unshakable sensation regarding the importance of their own stories. Originally from Mexico City, Rojas now lives and paints in Nashville, Tennessee. The COVID-19 pandemic was the catalyst that led to the serious development of his creative practice, and he has been extremely productive since that time. Rojas has since contributed to five group shows in Nashville and Boulder, Colorado, and took part in his first two-person exhibition in February 2023 at Modfellows Gallery. With this first solo show, we see Rojas’ style crystallizing beautifully.
Crossing the threshold into Rockwall Gallery, one can immediately sense the symbiosis between pieces and location. The large-scale works are suspended in front of stone walls, perhaps coincidentally alluding to tapestries hanging in a medieval castle. The banner with Rojas’ name at the entrance, hand-painted with a font reminiscent of medieval manuscripts, also adds to the meticulously tailored aesthetics of the exhibition. Although initially whisked into an ambiance of traditional Western mythology, one quickly realizes that this is not simply recycled imagery, as Rojas has drawn from cultures beyond just classical Greece and Rome, and each surreal painting holds contemporary and personal interventions revealing the artist’s fingerprints upon stories that belong to everyone.
In A Dimly Lit Path, visitors are transported into a realm where myths and narratives converge, telling a story that transcends cultural and personal boundaries. 8 mythological scenes are depicted: the Three Fates spinning, Marduk and the Griffyn in a duel (Mesopotamia), the Hero Twins of the Popol Vuh (Mexico,) Narcissus staring at her reflection, the Fall of Icarus, a figure representing Theseus in the maze of the Minotaur, and Prometheus chained to a rock formation. The paintings are full of life, done almost exclusively in vibrant primary and complimentary colors. The semi-flattened, abstracted style is evocative of Mexican Muralism.
One work particularly noteworthy to me was The Maze of the Minotaur. As the largest work in the entire show, the viewer feels absorbed in the labyrinth alongside the two main characters. The abstracted, bright shapes of color add to the disorientation of the maze, while stars and a moon above allude to a world of a higher order. One of those same stars rests over the mouth of Theseus, who is depicted as no more than an androgynous outline – an open template for viewers to imagine themselves in their own labyrinths. The eight-point stars appear again and again in other paintings throughout the exhibition.
In conversation with Germán Rojas, he explains that the stars have a multidimensional meaning, representing the source of the ‘dim light’ that illuminates the heroes’ journeys – a journey that is fated, but not completely handed over with clear instructions, as well as constellations used for navigation by travelers both ancient and contemporary. The star over Theseus’ mouth therefore evokes that guiding force omnipresent in every individual’s odyssey; it represents a small strand of meaning and fate, guiding you to your trial.
In A Dimly Lit Path, each piece acted as a space of its own within a larger shared structure, a vignette, or maybe more accurately as a mirror, reflecting the viewer’s role as the hero of their own story. The exhibition heightened awareness of belonging to a larger, ever-shifting narrative, where we all participate in Joseph Campbell’s ‘monomyth’. Leaving the gallery, there lingered a sense of comfort in the shared struggles, defeats, and victories portrayed in Rojas’ work. The exhibition created a space for reflection and dialogue, reinforcing the idea that attendees’ lives are interconnected threads in the intricate tapestry of human existence.
