Artist Chilly Rodriguez was born and raised in Toledo. He grew up bouncing between the homes of different family members due to his parents’ struggle with drug addiction. His style of bright colors and bold patterns reflect his artistic roots, as his journey began with graffiti as a teenager.
After losing his left hand in an alcohol-related accident with dynamite in 2018, Rodriguez decided it was time to become sober and start taking his art more seriously. Around that time, Rodriguez had his first solo show, which he said was “a life saver” in giving him something to focus on.
“[The accident] was a catalyst of trying to take things seriously, and art is the only thing I ever wanted to do,” Rodriguez said. “It was an outlet for me to put everything I was going through and focus on trying to create and keep my mind off of the trauma I just experienced.”
In the years since then, Rodriguez has focused on mural work. Along with Dean Davis, he worked on the new pedestrian bridge that crosses Main Street on the East Side. In January 2022, he opened the River East Gallery, which he co-owns along with local artists Con-Tron & Luke Stoeckley.
Rodriguez’s upcoming exhibition titled “My Journey So Far” will tell the story of his life through a collection of entirely new work in the Toledo Museum of Art’s Community Gallery. When the museum reached out to him, Rodriguez said he was “overwhelmed and grateful, and kind of shocked, honestly.”
“I think any local artist’s dream is to showcase their work in the museum,” he says. “I’ve grown up going there and it is one of my favorite places to go, so when they reached out I was like, ‘This is crazy. This is a big opportunity.’”
People visiting his new exhibition can expect “to get hit with a lot of color and a lot of emotion too,” Rodriguez says. They will view pieces inspired by his journey through life, which has included childhood trauma, addiction, sobriety, “love and fear and loss,” he added, including what he has learned in recent years about how to love himself.
He plans to transform the gallery with paintings on the walls and a large-scale installation in the center of the room. Every time he finishes one of the pieces for the exhibition, he hangs it up in his studio in the back of the River East Gallery.
“As I finish one piece, I’ll hang it on my wall to see how it all comes together, and it is like, ‘this is going to be good’,” he says.
Rodriguez’s show, “The Journey So Far”, will be open to the public beginning on April 16 and run until July 6. The opening reception will be held on April 18 from 5:30-7:30pm in the Toledo Museum of Art’s Community Gallery.
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