Amanda Rodriguez
Free Transfer

March 20 - April 26, 2025

For whom are the paintings of Amanda Rodriguez? 

A true story: In 2003, there was a bubble machine outside a coffee shop on Hennepin Avenue in Minneapolis. On one of the first fine days of spring after a typically brutal winter, a man in a gray business suit ripped down the sidewalk, head bowed into the wind. Encountering the cloud of iridescent soapy globes he startled, gnashed his teeth and mumbled, “GOD DAMN BUBBLES!”, swatting them away angrily with his arms.

If you are this man, or one of his tribe, who has no time for bubbles on a nice spring day- the work of Amanda Rodriguez will make no sense- for you there is no transformation, redemption, or rebirth- the stick you were born with will remain lodged firmly in your rectum until your dying day.

But for everyone else- step inside, take your coat off and make yourself at home- it’s all here, from the apocryphal “woman who bore a fish for a son, whose son grows old, finds love, and returns to the sea”, to the more oblique- “the girl who dolls herself up in the mirror, only to find she is little more than a plate of cooked meat”- this is an animal at play, please show a little respect. Somewhere there’s a message. 

People imagine we as a society are on some sort of precipice- but of course, people are fools- the precipice is far behind, the bomb went off decades ago, we have been in free fall for ages- generation after generation of stillborns, we hurdle towards the ground, waiting for an impact- but we watch the seasons change, the cycles of death and rebirth on the cliff face as we plummet- flowers bloom, babies cry, trees grow and shatter- have fun, take in a breath of the fresh air before the moment the silence enters

Text by Elberto Muller

Amanda Rodriguez (b. 1991, New York, NY) is a multidisciplinary artist known for her esoteric typographic style and exploration of dusty Americana through her distinct visual iconography. Her work has been featured in group exhibitions at Anton Kern Gallery (2024, curated by Chris Martin), Village Works (2024), The Hole NYC and LA (2024, curated by Barry McGee) and in a duo show with Elberto Muller at Living Gallery (2020), as well as the summer group exhibition “Some Pulp” (2024) at Entrance. Rodriguez has published in Sneeze, Lilypad Magazine, and has self-published numerous zines under the "Moodboard" series with Elberto Muller. Rodriguez has developed a visual language that communicates the blurring of meaninglessness and significance. A perpetual nomad and drifter, she splits her schedule between the merchant mariner life and her art practice. Industrial imagery weaves throughout her work — levers, automobiles and pinball mechanics— reflecting a fascination with both her nautical life and the tactile tools of her transience. "I sleep better on a train or boat.” she muses. “Free Transfer” at Entrance is her debut solo exhibition.

For inquiries, email info@entrance.nyc