Cuban artist René Francisco arrives in Paris for the first time with exhibition "Vamos"

April 26, 2023

Cuban artist René Francisco (Holguín, 1960) presents himself in Paris for the first time with an exhibition titled "Vamos" at the Slatoparra gallery. The show, curated by Dayneris Brito and Leonor Parra and open throughout the month of April, brings together works created between 2015 and 2023 that explore a multidisciplinary path of art as a means of research and social transformation, according to a note published in the magazine Rialta.

In the exhibition, Francisco addresses the notion of advancing intuitively, taking the step forward and trusting in the redemptive capacity of art to construct other possible realities, always betting on reconciliation and affection. "Allons-y" is a call to act in the incendiary present and to create a better future.

The exhibition presents several creative cosmos of Francisco. On one hand, the construction of an "architecture of the possible" and critical routes to insinuate ideal and utopian cities is present. The series "Desarrollo" and "Ojo de fuego" are influenced by Brazilian concrete art. On the other hand, the notion of "dystopian city" runs through a series like "Ignípolis," which displays pieces such as Lilas y naranjas que van a arder and Diamante de sangre.

Additionally, the exhibition includes the "Incendiarios," smaller-scale paintings in which the artist has populated his painting inside matchboxes, and the installation Mar de balseros, which highlights subaltern bodies and pays homage to the tragic migrant deaths that have occurred in the Mediterranean Sea. Meanwhile, the "Dibujos" are self-referential explorations around family, home, and economy.

The exhibition also includes Tubótica Universalis, an installation that opens the door to play and sexual recreation. Humanoid figures, constructed with toothpaste tubes and medicine tubes, copulate without prejudice.

According to the curators of the exhibition, René Francisco's masses reproduce the ideal of the collective. The artist paints subjects who are marked by heterodox sensibilities, who march toward and for dissent.