Imagine being in a space where you can feel the warmth of the sun, the breeze through a field, and the stillness of glaziers, all around you. This is one way to experience the art in the parlor room of Leopoldo Cuspinera Madrigal’s newly renovated workplace in Lauraville. Part gallery, part studio, part elegant home, this has been Cuspinera’s most recent project, and his paintings grace the walls and hallways of the first and second floor.
Cuspinera’s unique technique is a subtle collage, incorporating handmade paper with paint, providing texture and depth to each piece. This way of working has connections to the beginning of his architectural career, as Cuspinera, 54, is not only a painter, he also is an architect. The materials overlap and he describes the affinity, “I remember the physicality of the paper and graphite from my early days as an architect, and now I work with paper and pigments.” The quality of materials is very important to Cuspinera. His pigments, for example, are specially made in his birthplace of Mexico, and he transports them here on his frequent trips home to visit family. From these pigments he creates a radiant palette, colors that are vibrant yet delicate for his quasi-monochromatic works.
The gallery rooms in Cuspinera’s location are expertly curated to display his luminous pieces that reflect elements of earth, land and water. Many pieces include the presence of the tree, where paper comes from, also a symbol of divinity, connecting earth and sky. Cuspinera reminisces about the places that inspired the work, these expansive landscapes that document his experiences around the world. He tells of his life that has revolved around art, architecture, and the places he has lived, worked and studied – from Mexico, abroad to Italy, France, Switzerland and Germany, then to the United States, Michigan, New Mexico and now, Baltimore.
When Cuspinera leaves his studio, you may see him here in Bolton Hill, where he has lived on Rutter Street for the past three years. What he says he loves most about his Baltimore home is its proximity to old world charm, along with a view of Corpus Christi Church. Coming from a Mexican-Catholic tradition, he says, “Baltimore is where I want to stay, mainly because I haven’t even been in half of its beautiful churches yet.” Besides its churches, the city’s history, its ports and its ubiquitous building material, brick, are what he finds captivating.
For a scholar with background and studies in conservation of historical architecture and art and architecture for the liturgy, it is no wonder then that Bolton Hill became the place he settled. About Rutter Street, he says, “The history of these houses, built for workers in the middle of the 19th century, they are now housing artists and art galleries. We are continuing the history of the place.”
Highlights of Cuspinera’s work can be seen on BHCA’s Facebook and Instagram pages and on his website at https://www.leopoldocuspinera.com/, where you can view his art and access his contact page. He is represented by galleries in Mexico City and Munich, but he also participated in a recent show at Memorial Episcopal Church. Baltimore art aficionados and collectors may arrange a visit to his studio, an exceptionally worthwhile experience.
–Francine Marchese
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