Arturo Rodriguez in conversation with Nat Chediak and Dr. Carol Damian

Join us as we welcome renowned Cuban-American artist Arturo Rodriguez for the release of his self-titled monograph, Arturo Rodriguez. With introductions by Oksana Salamatina, special guests Nat Chediak and Dr. Carol Damian will accompany Rodriguez in a book presentation and discussion.

🎟 This event is FREE and open to the public! Please RSVP only if you intend to join us.

Arturo Rodriguez (b. 1956, Cuba) is a Cuban American painter known for psychologically charged figurative works that explore memory, identity, displacement, and the emotional residues of everyday life. After emigrating to the United States as a child, Rodriguez developed a distinctive visual language marked by dense compositions, intimate interiors, and expressive color. His work draws on personal history while addressing universal themes of belonging and vulnerability, and has been widely exhibited and collected by major museums and private collections.

Nat Chediak is the co-founder / director of the Miami Film Festival (1984-2001), author of Diccionario de jazz latino and a three-time Grammy and three-time Latin Grammy winning music producer. He is a recipient of the Carbonell Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Arts.

Dr. Carol DamianProfessor Emerita of Florida International UniversityArt HistorianChairperson of the Miami Dade County Art in Public Places Trust.
Carol Damian, Ph.D., is a retired Professor of Art History at Florida International University.A former director of the Frost Art Museum and chairperson of FIU's Department of Art and Art History, Dr. Damian is a strong fixture in Miami's arts community, and a nationally recognized art historian. She is a graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, Mass., and received her M.A. in Pre-Columbian Art and her Ph.D. in Latin American History from the University of Miami. A specialist in Latin American and Caribbean art, she teaches classes in Pre-Columbian, Colonial, Spanish and Contemporary Latin American Art, Modern Art surveys, and Women in Art.

Oksana Salamatina is the Founder and Principal of Salamatina Gallery, New York, where she has built a distinguished career at the intersection of scholarship, curatorial practice, and the international art market. Prior to founding her gallery, Salamatina worked at Christie’s, Sotheby’s, and the New Museum, experiences that helped shape her distinctive perspective across the worlds of museums, scholarship, and the art market.
Salamatina organized, curated, and brought to the State Hermitage Museum in Russia the first-ever exhibition dedicated to Roberto Matta, a landmark project that underscored her ability to realize ambitious international initiatives of scholarly and cultural significance. In addition, she advises some of the top high-profile collectors of important works of art.
Salamatina has published numerous books on the subject of art with Skira and GliOri, further advancing scholarly and public dialogue around artists and their legacies. She is also a children’s book author.
At Books & Books, Salamatina brings her longstanding commitment to art, ideas, and public engagement to this special evening celebrating Arturo Rodriguez and the launch of his monograph. Her work is driven by a belief that exhibitions, books, and cultural events should not only present art beautifully, but also place them within a larger intellectual and human conversation.

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