The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 11, 2026

A vertical painting depicts a towering control tower. Deep magenta and purple ink streak down white geometric blocks in thick, weathered strokes. Fine black lines define antennas crowning the glass tier. Pink palm fronds fan out symmetrically from the structure's sides, while dark, mossy textures cling to the tiers. The central tower juts upward, its base dissolving into feathered purple washes against a plain background.

Figure 1827

2018

Gamaliel Rodriguez

(Puerto Rican, b. 1977)
Puerto Rico
acrylic and ink on paper
Sheet: 127 x 96.5 cm (50 x 38 in.)
Alma and Robert D. Milne Fund 2024.4
Location: Not on view

Did You Know?

Rodríguez often produces aerial views of artificial industrial, military, and civilian structures in Puerto Rico and US territories.

Description

The artist’s large-scale works on paper imagine landscapes inspired by his native Puerto Rico, which he describes as a mix of “beauty and chaos.”  Often, Rodríguez depicts abandoned structures overgrown with tropical plants. Devoid of a human presence, the overgrown buildings have a dystopic feel. Though the artist’s subjects are fictitious, they are inspired by the accumulation of manufacturing projects in Puerto Rico established and ultimately abandoned by US companies lured by tax breaks and cheap labor in the mid-20th century.
  • ?–2024
    (Nathalie Karg Gallery, New York, NY), sold to The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
    February 26,2024–
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • {{cite web|title=Figure 1827|url=false|author=Gamaliel Rodriguez|year=2018|access-date=11 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2024.4