Hugo Rodriguez, Featured Artist of the 42nd Annual Lewiston Art Festival, and to promote this annual event, his works are on exhibit at the luxurious Barton Hill Hotel in Lewiston, NY.

Rodriguez has recently been appointed to a newly-created position with the JoAnn Falletta International Guitar Competition. He has been named as the first official artist for this important global event. His colorful and dynamic piece, La Gytara Gytana (The Gypsy Woman Guitar) is the featured artwork of the competition and it was utilized in all of the marketing campaign materials and also used in a TV commercial for the event.

In early June, his artworks were prominently exhibited in the main lobby of Kleinhans Music Hall for the duration of the competition. For this unique presentation, the artist created greeting cards, a commemorative poster, and a specialty children’s coloring book, donating some of the proceeds to the Falletta Competition. In addition, a number of his most recent works were featured in a solo show at the Buffalo-Niagara International Airport as an integral part in promoting this musical event.

As a further contribution to the success of the competition, Rodriguez was invited to introduce his guitar concept to art students at the prestigious Buffalo Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, and he presented 3 classes there.

In the recent past, Rodriguez has been exhibiting his works at a variety of venues to expand his outlook, reach new audiences, and learn from different cultural groups and organizations.

The artist had a solo exhibition in the spring of 2008 at the Bungalow Restaurant in Westchester County, and several of his pieces were favorably presented in the review by The New York Times culinary critic. For 2 months in the summer of 2007, Rodriguez had a major exhibit of 44 works at the Horizons Gallery at the WNED studios. Before that, he had a one-man show at the Jewish Community Center in Buffalo.

Rodriguez has made the guitar a focal point for his artistic achievements. His ongoing series, Mundo Gytara, features innovative variations with the guitar as the basic theme. Rich pastels and an array of mixed-media on a variety of surfaces serve to underscore his commitment to presenting the guitar as a symbol of life itself—ever changing, ever surprising, ever vital.
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