Completed in 2003, "Small Acrobat" is a gouache on paper work by Victor Rodriguez which captures the artist's love for figurative realism. Executed with more painterly brushstrokes than most of his other work, this piece nevertheless maintains a psychological pull which draws the viewer further into the composition, as seen here with the masked woman caught in mid-movement. Rodriguez captures the acrobat's exacting pose, with straining muscles and graceful hand placements in a delicate display of figurative movement characteristic of the artist's style.

Contemporary artist Victor Rodriguez (b. 1970) is known for creating incredibly hyper-realist paintings which are rich with narrative and visual imagery. Intimate scenes of figurative subjects seize the viewer's attention and force them to reconsider the reality within the confines of the composition. With a keen aptitude for surfaces, textures, perspective, and tactile qualities, Rodriguez draws inspiration from both historical and contemporary artists such as Vermeer, Velazquez, Chuck Close, and Franz Gertsch. The artist has exhibited at numerous venues internationally including the Museo de Arte Contemporaneo (Monterrey, Mexico), Midome Art Center (Kyoto, Japan), Kravets/Wehby Gallery (New York, NY), and Galeria Fernando Pradilla (Madrid, Spain), among others.