State-of-the-Arts Gallery is brimming with Mexican culture for our two part special exhibition, Mexican Summer. This exhibition will show the works of 3 highly regarded Mexican artists, Daniel Romero, Isabel Garfias and Lorena Rodriguez. The second part ‘Wonder Woman Born in Jamaica’ will feature Lorena Rodriguez, from 5th July – 24th July 2011.

Lorena Rodriguez was born in Monterrey Nuevo Leon, Mexico and grew up submerged in art by her artist mother, Elsa Ayala. By 1992 she realised painting was her calling too, after this she went from strength to strength, exhibiting all over Mexico and Texas before featuring in a gallery in SOHO, New York in 2002 - the rest is history. She has since featured in esteemed galleries all over the world. Lorena squashes perceptions of Latin American women being submissive to their male counterparts by painting strong, modern women in a surrealistic style.

Traditional Mexican concepts gain a new context in Rodríguez's paintings, however, she is also adept at capturing the modernity inherent in present-day Mexican society. Her work portrays a multifaceted culture in which traditions coexist with technology. "I want people to see the other part of Mexico - a modern country with technology," she says. "I am passionate about many things…Almost any theme interests me and all of that is reflected in some way in my work."

Thus, Rodríguez's paintings are just as multilayered as the artist herself, her very essence is intertwined with the brushstrokes that she leaves behind on the canvas. "Art reflects a world's history, a country's history, a region's or a city's history," Rodríguez says. "And most of all, it reflects an artist's history."

Lorena shows us Mexican culture from a modern woman’s perspective. Her style is anything but ordinary, like the Mexican drink Margarita, her art is served with a twist.