Rodrigo Torres's Camouflage Ceramics and Paintings at rhinoceros gallery

Colombian artist Rodrigo Torres (Bogotà, 1976) presents his solo exhibition 'Água mole em pedra dura' (Soft water on hard stone) at rhinoceros gallery in Rome, organized by Brazilian gallery A Gentil Carioca. After a two-month residency in Rome, Torres produced a series of ceramic and painted works created at the c.r.e.t.a. ceramics center and the gallery itself. The exhibition explores themes of mimicry and camouflage, challenging perceptions of reality. Torres contrasts the impermanence of his native Rio de Janeiro's Tijuca neighborhood—where the rainforest teaches that 'what the earth gives, the earth takes back'—with Rome's resilient ancient vestiges. His fragmented, crackled ceramic surfaces evoke Japanese kintsugi repair and Cesare Brandi's restoration theory, emphasizing care and memory. The matte, powdery paint finish, inspired by Roman painting, suggests temporal decay. For the first time, Torres presents a group of paintings that from afar resemble collage but reveal their two-dimensional nature up close, constructed through decomposed and superimposed forms simulating three-dimensionality. The exhibition runs until August 13, 2026, at rhinoceros gallery, Via del Velabro, 9, Rome.