LONG BEACH, CA.- The Museum of Latin American Art (MOLAA) presents Arnaldo Roche: Hermandad / Brotherhood, a solo exhibition by the Puerto Rican artist, Arnaldo Roche. The exhibition features 19 large-scale paintings created between 2002 and 2007.

Arnaldo Roche (b.1955) is recognized as the preeminent post-expressionist painter of Puerto Rico. Trained in the United States, Roche studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago during the 1980s where he quickly earned U.S. attention for his art. He continued to develop his artistic career in Puerto Rico and has received international acclaim. His art is included in major museum collections around the world.

Roche explores the complex issues of personal experiences and historic events. Many of his self portraits and figurative works veil and unveil the angst of his personal life and attempt to resolve the human condition. Multiple series of works refer to his relationship with his elder brother, Felito, often in correlation to the life and art of the post-Impressionist painter, Vincent Van Gogh (Holland, 1853-1890). Although Roche’s artistic identity is aligned with Van Gogh as an artist, he associates Felito’s schizophrenic behavior with the Dutch painter’s illness and eventual suicide. By depicting these episodes of personal pain within universal narratives, he seeks redemption and recovery.

Roche creates almost ritual-like performances in the production of his art. He uses the innovative technique of rubbing and wrapping the canvas on and around the human body and various objects—both natural, such as palm leaves and man-made, such as chairs. In this way, he transfers the tactical experience of life to painting.

Drawing upon the Surrealists’ use of frottage (rubbing) and the Impressionists use of intense color vibration, Roche describes his process as ―ritualistic human interactions‖ with the intention to discover himself and his world through the use of art as a cathartic process of healing. Roche’s art is a journey into his own psyche, a spiritual search in which the viewer encounters layers of symbolic meaning that range from the deeply personal to the universal.