BELÉN RODRÍGUEZ
Valladolid, Spain, 1981
Received the Fundación Botín Art Grant in 2022

Chaqueta de granjero (Farmer´s Jacket), 2024
Structure made of local chestnut wood, fabrics dyed with natural pigments, work overalls, woodcut on oak, video projection with sound on textile, two color photographs (inkjet print on cotton paper, 30 × 40 cm)
180 × 500 × 500 cm
Acquired in 2025

Belén Rodríguez's practice advocates for a simple lifestyle, emphasising the importance of reconnecting with traditional techniques and values lost in the bustle of modern life. The artist makes sculptural pieces and installations using mainly textile materials that she weaves, assembles and dyes in her studio located in a rural area of Cantabria.

Farmer's Jacket is an exhaustive study of different handcrafted textiles from the Japanese tradition from a time when the archipelago was self-sufficient and had a more proportionate and symbiotic relationship with nature. These fabrics were patiently created with the materials found around them, banana or nettle fibre, for example, and colours extracted from local vegetation. They were able to produce a labour-intensive, elegant garment for their own daily use, valuable but not luxurious, such as the Bashofu, which was also a perfect and apt response to their climate.

This wooden cross-shaped structure contains a series of elements that reflect Belén's intention to assimilate and learn this work-life philosophy. The jumpsuit is woven by the artist from textile material reused from previous works, dyed with vegetation from a local forest, such as oak or birch. The woodcut displays the implements and materials she has used to create the garment. The video shows a collaboration with the musician Tatematsu Masahiro, who has produced 22 musical pieces for the xylophone stemming from his interpretation of the Ikat textile technique.