A young man with fawn-colored skin, owning a rectangular head,
a small, skittish frame, and a penchant for joie de vivre , studied art for two years at a school in Venezuela bearing the name of a
hefty eccentric.
The eccentric was a gentleman who, as his home and studio, built a walled beach compound from palm
fronds, sewed life-size dolls made of burlap as his painting models, wore a loincloth and feathers around
the home, and worked via brushes composed of bones and cloth. This eccentric painted white-on-white
captures of the Caribbean seaside he called home — the tiny, forested village of Macuto.
His name was Armando Reverón, and he died in 1954, leaving an oft-misunderstood legacy of erudition and innovation hidden some 20 miles from his hometown of Caracas, Venezuela’s largest and capital city. The young man, alive and kicking, is also from Caracas. His name is Ruben Marroquin. He creates fiber odes to the painting process, uses bamboo and found objects as canvas, attended the Armando Reverón School of Art in Venezuela’s Anzoátegui State, takes influence from other completely radical artists, and has lived and caroused throughout North and South America his entire life.
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