Criticism · Curatorship · Editorial direction
Reading images, building narratives.
Three decades of designing for art taught Jorge Rodríguez Diez to read images as closely as he makes them. Today that reading is a service of its own: criticism, catalog texts and curatorial direction for galleries, museums and artists.
Commission a text or an exhibition
- articles by Jorge in Echoes since 2024
- 190+
- daily AI Today columns, in English and Spanish
- 434
- exhibitions curated for MoCAA, 2022–2026
- 22
What we offer
- 01
Art criticism & essays
Reviews, essays and features on contemporary art, photography and visual culture, written for publications, institutions and artists.
- 02
Catalog texts
Curatorial and critical texts for exhibition catalogs, monographs and artist books — written with the design in mind from the first draft.
- 03
Curatorial direction
Exhibition concepts, artist selection, critical framing and documentation, from gallery shows to museum collections and traveling programs.
- 04
Editorial direction
Planning and editing publications and online magazines: sections, voice, contributors and a publishing rhythm that lasts.
- 05
Visual communication consulting
Semiotic analysis of images, campaigns and identities — how they are read, and how to make them say what they mean.
- 06
Lectures & workshops
Talks and courses on image semiotics, typography and editorial design, drawing on years of teaching at Havana’s ISDI.
Latest from Echoes
All articles on Echoes- Laurel LeavesTrump, the Tiger, and the Emperor Who Killed an OstrichRead ↗
- The Delicate Corset of the AnimaUnder This Shared Sky: A Visual Conversation on Unity — Gallery Jenseits, CincinnatiRead ↗
- Give Don't TakeBrighter Children and its commitment to educating children in vulnerable communities, celebrated at an evening of art and solidarity at The Annex Gallery.Read ↗
- The Most Merciful Thing in the WorldTrevor Paglen and the Contemporary Visual MachineryRead ↗
- The Two Faces of EveEvelyn Sosa and Leticia Sánchez Honored for Their Artistic ContributionsRead ↗
- In the Middle of the Endless WaterJulia Orquera Bianco at the Philip M. Meyers Jr. Memorial Gallery, University of CincinnatiRead ↗
- The Semiology of DecayI suppose that, like me, hundreds and probably thousands of viewers developed a dark sympathy for the character of…Read ↗
- Klimt, Hokusai, and LauraLike so many other wildlife photographs, this one immediately caught my attention. It was published in Digital Camera…Read ↗
Selected essays
- The Most Merciful Thing in the WorldTrevor Paglen’s FotoFocus Biennial show, read through the building that hosts it and today’s machinery of images.Read ↗
- The Two Faces of EveRecent honors for Evelyn Sosa and Leticia Sánchez Toledo, seen through Sánchez’s portrait of Sosa.Read ↗
- Klimt, Hokusai, and LauraA wildlife photograph’s golden bokeh and paired gannets, traced back to Klimt and Hokusai’s cranes.Read ↗
- I.T.I.N.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.S.Juan-Sí González’s solo show at The Annex Gallery, and the return of a Cuban artist long sidelined at home.Read ↗
- Can a New Iconography Recompose a Shared Identity? Part 3Third part of a series on the shortlisted euro banknote designs: the vertical proposal by Rubio & del Amo with Cruz más Cruz.Read ↗
- The Billionaire, Sin, and the VirginFrom John Paul II in Havana, 1998, to a billionaire’s giant Virgin in Poland: faith, wealth and monuments.Read ↗
- Baselitz takes his leave. The world stays on its head.An obituary essay on Georg Baselitz: the war, the refusal of socialist realism, censorship and the inverted paintings.Read ↗
- The traps of the sign. Notes on the winning photograph of the World Press Photo 2026A semiotic reading of the year’s winning press photograph: how light, gesture and surrounding text fix its meaning.Read ↗
- Munch Was More Than a ScreamTrembling Earth at the Clark Art Institute and the luminous landscapes of a resilient Munch beyond the anguish.Read ↗
- Tormented by GiorgioA close reading of an Armani image: the model’s held-back hand as a sign of restraint, desire and exclusivity.Read ↗
Curated exhibitions
34- 2026Cirenaica Moreira: Agárrame que me vueloThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Nov 11, 2026 - 2026Juan-Sí González: I.T.I.N.E.R.A.T.I.O.N.SThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Sep 16 – Oct 31, 2026 - 2026Jim MarshallThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Jul 15 – Aug 1, 2026 - Liudmila VelascoThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
- 2026Leticia Sánchez ToledoThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Jun 3 – Jun 13, 2026 - 2026Julia O. Bianco's AmazoniaThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
May 22 – May 30, 2026 - 2026Rigoberto Mena's Fire and GestureThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Apr 8 – Apr 23, 2026 - 2026Double PortraitThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Feb 25 – Mar 28, 2026 - 2026Dossier HavanaThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Jan 30 – Feb 14, 2026 - 2026What Was Next to NothingThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Jan 9 – Jan 24, 2026 - 2026Two Cities, Two Eyes, Same PeopleThe Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Dec 12 – Dec 19, 2026 - 2016El rey loco (The Mad King)The Annex Gallery, Cincinnati
Nov 9, 2016 - 2025Sculpted PathwaysCarlos AlbertMoCAA, Miami
May 16 – Jun 20, 2025Curator - 2025The Luciano Méndez CollectionCuban art from the Luciano Méndez collectionMoCAA, Miami
May 16 – Jun 20, 2025Curator - 2025Cuban Art from Both ShoresRodríguez Collection: Belkis Ayón, Carmen Herrera, José Bedia and othersSão Paulo
Apr 2025Curator - 2025Boris Danilov’s Work Reaches FloridaBoris DanilovMoCAA, Miami
Feb 21 – Mar 7, 2025Co-curator with Ivonne Ferrer - 2024Allegories of the Real and the SupernaturalMilixa Morón, Elkin CañasMoCAA, Miami
Sep 20 – Oct 25, 2024Curator - 2024Comas Everlasting: Work and RemembranceManuel Comas LabradaMoCAA, Miami
Aug 30 – Sep 16, 2024Curator - 2024Women Who I Could’ve BeenAna Albertina DelgadoMoCAA, Miami
Jul 12 – Aug 2, 2024Curator - 2024StubbornCarlos Enrique PradoMoCAA, Miami — ArtEd Connect, with the University of Miami
Jun 14 – Jul 10, 2024Curator - 2024Exaggerations of HistoryCarolina V. García (Apia)MoCAA, Miami
Mar 15 – May 3, 2024Curator - 2024DAEA President’s ShowcaseDade Art Educators AssociationMoCAA, Miami
Mar 8 – 14, 2024Co-curator with Alina Rodríguez Rojo and Zahra Farook - 2024Geometric AbstractionPedro HernándezMoCAA, Miami
Feb 23 – May 24, 2024Co-curator with Ivonne Ferrer - 2023Lucky LoveBernardo Medina (BeMe)MoCAA, Miami
Dec 5, 2023 – Jan 5, 2024Curator - 2023An Island AloneJosé (Pepe) Franco CodinachMoCAA, Miami — residency
Dec 1, 2023 – Jan 5, 2024Curator - 2023Tamayo’s Rumba StarsReynerio TamayoMoCAA, Miami
Dec 1, 2023 – Jan 5, 2024Co-curator with Reynerio Tamayo - 2023In Full BloomGabriela MartínezMoCAA, Miami
Sep 22 – Oct 6, 2023Curator - 2023Body LanguageNurit BirnbaumMoCAA, Miami
Sep 8 – 22, 2023Curator - 2023Ciconia ProjectCarola BravoMoCAA, Miami
2023Co-curator with Carola Bravo - 2023Artistic License IIIMiami-Dade artist-educatorsMoCAA, Miami
Aug 4 – 30, 2023Co-curator with Alina Rodríguez - 2023An Exercise of PolygamyCirenaica Moreira (performance)MoCAA, Miami
Apr 28, 2023Co-curator with Cirenaica Moreira - 2023Manuscrito en una botellaArturo MontotoMoCAA, Miami
Jan 10 – Feb 24, 2023Curator - 2023The Rodríguez Collection in a New LightRodríguez CollectionMoCAA, Miami
Jan – Feb 2023Curator - 2022Scene Changes: The Rodríguez CollectionRodríguez CollectionMoCAA, Miami
Nov 2022 – Jan 2023Curator
Curatorial & editorial roles
- NowExecutive Director & Chief Curator, The Annex Gallery, Cincinnati.
- NowEditor-in-Chief & Publisher, The Annex Updated.
- NowCurator-at-large, Gallery Jenseits, Mount Adams, Cincinnati.
Publications
- 2026Docile Metals and Memory: Leticia Sánchez Toledo. Co-author · Annex Editions