Fragments of Nature | Ernie Rodriguez Solo Exhibition

There's a version of Miami that only exists in the pages of a fifty-year-old magazine. The typefaces, the color saturation, the particular blue of a swimming pool photographed in 1974. Ernie Rodriguez has spent years collecting that version of the world, one page at a time, and cutting it into something entirely new.

I'm thrilled to open Ernie's solo show, Fragments of Nature, at ARRAE this fall. The opening reception is September 17th, 7 to 11 pm, and the exhibition stays up through October 7th.

The work

Ernie is a Miami-born collage artist, and everything about his process is patient in a way that feels almost out of step with how fast we make things now. He works exclusively with vintage mid-century magazines, and every element of every piece is cut by hand. No shortcuts, no digital collage tools standing in for the scissors. The aged paper, the faded ink, the slightly yellowed white space, all of it becomes material he can shape.

His recurring subjects are drawn from the natural world: birds, fish, insects, the kind of forms that carry meaning across every culture and every era. In Fragments of Nature, that instinct takes center stage. Vintage print, decades of accumulated color and texture, reassembled into creatures that feel both ancient and completely new. A peacock built from a hundred small histories.

What I love most about Ernie's work is the honesty of the material. You can see that this page was once something else. A travel spread, an advertisement, a photograph of someone's ordinary Tuesday. He doesn't hide that former life, he builds with it. The result has a tactile, lived-in quality that a lot of contemporary work simply doesn't reach for anymore, and there's always a small narrative tucked into the details if you take the time to look.

Join us September 17th

Opening receptions are one of my favorite nights of the year at ARRAE. Come meet Ernie, see the full body of work in person, and spend an evening with a community that shows up for original art and the people who make it.

Fragments of Nature
Opening Reception: September 17th, 7pm–11pm
On view through October 7th
ARRAE Gallery, 3680 Grand Avenue, Coconut Grove

I'd love to see you there — feel free to get in touch if you'd like to RSVP or have questions.

ARRAE Gallery represents Miami's best artists across mediums, from figurative oil painting to fiber, ceramics, and collage. To see more of Ernie Rodriguez's work, visit his collection.