Through the medium of oil painting, my work conveys the idea of a constant change. The subject of my work focuses on the Landscape of the Jersey Turnpike due to its extensive history and rapidly changing developments. To convey the idea of constant change, I’ve painted several layers of outlines, each layer depicting a different time period represented by recognizable signs, such as colonial farm buildings for the colonial era and red brick factories for the industrial era, etc., over an outline of what the area looks like in the present day, Within each of the gaps, I filled in a different era, careful so that the paint doesn’t completely obscure the outlines. Landscape was chosen as the subject matter of choice since its traditional large horizontal canvases are big enough and impersonal enough to display and contain the complexity of history. This body of work seeks to remind the viewer that the world around them, even at its most still, is constantly shifting. That what they feel is harsh and solid can become air.
Bridge Highway (View of the City of Newark from the Jersey Turnpike), 2021, Oil on Canvas, 114.3×233.7cm (45″x92″)
Prison Highway (View of the Hudson County Correctional Facility from the Jersey Turnpike), 2021, Oil on Canvas, 121.9×243.8cm (48″ by 96″)
Entertainment Highway, 2022, Oil on Canvas, 61×121.9cmcm (24″x48″)
Post-Industrial Highway, 2022, Oil on Canvas, 61×121.9cm (24″x48″)
Danni Rodriguez Fine Art 