Ricardo Rocha, the success of Bolivian costumbrista art in the world

With more than 100 exhibitions presented in galleries around the world, Rocha is considered one of the most outstanding national references of Ibero-American painting.
After more than 40 years dedicated to art as a way of life and a way of contributing to the development and diffusion of Bolivian culture within the country itself and abroad, the visual artist, journalist and professor from Oruro, Ricardo Rocha, maintains his lively spirit intact when producing his works, the result of which is his recent arrival to the country from Bogotá, Colombia after participating in the exhibition ‘Sounds of the Bolivian Andes’ in the Andean Parliament.

Rocha, linked to art from an early age, studied in his adolescence at the School of Fine Arts in Oruro and later trained as a visual communicator at the University of Madison in Wisconsin, United States. His costumbrista technique led to his art being recognized both nationally and internationally with the presence of around 100 of his exhibitions in cultural spaces in Asia, Europe, the United States, Canada and Latin America.

“I am a watercolorist, but I practice all the techniques within painting. In addition, I am a fervent admirer of William Turner, the most outstanding English watercolorist of the 18th century, so, breaking the mold, I introduce myself to painting the human figure with a high social content, which is why I explore diverse themes that reflect the human being, his social environment and the characteristics of the Bolivian highlands,” says Rocha.
THE ARTIST AND HIS TECHNIQUE Among the artist's series on which he bases the theme of his works are: 'Human Expressions' representing man and the human body as a tool of expression, 'Roosters' representing these animals as a visual window that evokes symbolism and a range of interpretations, 'High Bronzes' in homage to the anonymous musicians of the 80s who composed pieces for the entrance of the Oruro Carnival, 'The Oruro Carnival' representing the celebration in honor of the Virgin of Socavón as a Hispanic-Andean cultural syncretism and 'Mountains and Landscapes' portraying the immensity of the Bolivian landscape as a support for the experience of the man of the Andes from a critical, biographical and social vision.

"My art is costumbrist, it reflects the identity of a country full of culture like ours, with its customs and realities. My works are recreations of the Andean human being as such," he says.

ART IN BOLIVIA Most of Rocha's work is exhibited in artistic and cultural spaces outside Bolivia, because, over time, the artist found more support and opportunities to spread his art by knocking on doors outside the country.

“In Bolivia we have a lot of talent, however, they die due to lack of support from the State and cultural policies in the country. It must be considered that cultural policies are based on the capacity of the masses to intervene in the cultural, social and economic life of society and that does not exist in the country. It is not understood that an artist, who is a person who creates, expresses his feelings and processes his experience through art, cannot achieve his full realization or the exercise of his artistic faculties because the State and the governments in power at all levels do not support us with the necessary conditions,” he adds.

FUTURE PROJECTS A few days after arriving from Colombia, Rocha visited
Oruro,

La Paz and Cochabamba to rest and spend time with his family before returning to his agenda activities that include his participation in the Watercolor Triennial in 2025 in Colombia as an international guest, the installation of one of his collections at the Casa de las Américas in Madrid and other exhibitions in Santander (Colombia), Buenos Aires (Argentina) and Washington (USA), also the following year.

In addition, Rocha also works as a postgraduate professor at the UMSS and among his other facets complementary to art are his work as a journalist in Oruro media, literary production and the foray into public positions as president of the Departmental Council of Cultures of Oruro (2010-2014) and as national president of the Bolivian Association of Plastic Artists (2010-2013).
Source