CARLOS GAMEZ DE FRANCISCO BIO
Carlos Gamez de Francisco (b.1987, Holguin, Cuba) lives and works in Prospect, KY. He has received numerous awards including the Fine Art Photographer of the Year at Moscow International Photo Awards, the Honorable Mention at International Color Awards and Tokio International Photo Awards; the Museum Guild Purchase Award at Evansville Museum; the SAIC Distinguished Scholarship at The Art Institute of Chicago; the Key to the City of Louisville by Mayor Greg Fischer; and the “Dreammakers” Artist in Residence at Muhammad Ali Center. He has had solo shows at 21c Museum, Bentonville, AR; Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Miami, FL; Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville, KY; and the Colonial Museum of Fine Arts, Havana. Gamez de Francisco is represented in the collections of the 21c Museum, Louisville, KY; the Fashion Resource Center at The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL; the Cubaocho Museum & Performing Arts Center, Miami, FL; and the Louisville Metro Hall, Louisville, KY.
INTERVIEWS
Under Main: Studio Visit with Carlos Gamez De Francisco: Reconsidering Form
Voyage Chicago: Meet Carlos Gamez de Francisco
Arts-Louisville: 10 QUESTIONS FOR VISUAL ARTIST CARLOS GAMEZ DE FRANCISCO
LEO Weekly: Best of the Web: A Q&A with artist Carlos Gamez de Francisco
Nashville Arts Magazine: CARLOS GAMEZ DE FRANCISCO BRINGS MASTERS’ TECHNIQUE TO MODERN ART
EDUCATION
2016 School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL. Distinguished Scholarship.
2006 Jose Marti Fine Arts School. Holguin, Cuba
2004 Raul Gomez Garcia Fine Arts School. Holguin, Cuba
Independent study with Cuban artists Miguel Angel Salvo, Cosme Proenza, and Harry Ruiz.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2020 Dancing on the Couch, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Keeneland Couture, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
Personality Plus, Kore Gallery, Louisville, KY
2019 New Work, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
New Work, Weinberger Fine Art, Kansas City, MO
"Modern Nobility", Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
"Specimen Lost in a Tropical Island", New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
2018 “An Uncommon Vision: Equines, Archetypes, and Allegories”, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
“The Power of the Powerless”. Moremen Moloney Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2017 New Work. Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY
“FAQ’s 1789-1987”. Moremen Moloney Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2015 “Troubling Beauty: Myth and Metaphor in Contemporary Costume Drama”. 21c Museum, Bentonville, AR
2014 “Troubling Beauty: Myth and Metaphor in Contemporary Costume Drama”. 21c Museum, Louisville, KY
“Size Matters”. The Green Building Gallery, Louisville, KY
“Cactus Petals, Fluctuating Asymmetry, and Crimes of Passion”. Tinney Contemporary, Nashville, TN
2013 “Pétalos de Cactus, Fluctuaciones Asimétricas, y Crimen Pasional”. Visual Art Association, Holguín, Cuba
2012 “Radical Genealogy: The Decline of Dauphins, Courtesans, and Hounds". Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Miami, FL
“Trio”. Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“Black Portraits of Pomegranate Eaters”. Swanson Contemporary, Louisville, KY
2011 “Cuban Now” 21C Museum, Louisville, KY
2010 “The Last Words of Louis XVI” Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville, KY
2009 “Fungus for Parry-Rombeg”. Les Arts Gallery, Balearic Islands. Spain
2008 “The Last Little Vincent and Jean Puy”. Colonial Museum of Fine Arts, Havana, Cuba
2006 “The Hole of the Mirror”. Ibero-American House, Holguín, Cuba
GROUP EXHIBITIONS (SELECTED)
2020 Mix it Up! New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
Moscow International Foto Awards Winner’s Exhibition, Moscow, Russia
2019 Dress Up, Speak Up: Regalia and Resistance, 21c Museum, Cincinnati, OH
Mix it Up! New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
“Endless Summer”, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2018 46 International Art Exhibition, Brownsville Museum of Fine Art, Brownsville, TX
PHOTO’ 18. Kenise Barnes Fine Art, Larchmont, NY
“Endless Summer”, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“Keep your Clothes ON”, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
30th Anual Decatur Arts Festival, Decatur Arts Alliance, Decatur, GA
2018 Art at the Center Juried Exhibition, Overland Park, KS
“Merton Among Us”, 849 Gallery, KyCAD, Louisville, KY
2017 45th Mid-States Craft Exhibition, Evansville Museum, Evansville, IN
“Mistrz i morze”, ArtGalle Galeria, Szczecin, Poland
2016 Context Art Miami, Ai Bo Gallery, Miami, FL.
Cubaocho Museum & Performing Arts Center, Miami, FL
“Cuban Fried Chicken”, MAC Gallery, Fort Lauderdale, FL
“Cuban Art: Influence and Articulation”. Moremen Moloney Contemporary, Louisville, KY
“Navigate”, 1619 Flux Art + Activism, Louisville, KY
2015 New Blood Festival, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Art Southhampton, Glenn Aber Contemporary, NY
2014 “Latin Views 2014”. Alexey Von Schlippe Gallery, Groton, Connecticut
“Miami New Media Festival 2014”. The Chill Concept. Miami, FL
Art Hamptons, NY, Glenn Aber Contemporary
Art Palm Beach, FL, Glenn Aber Contemporary
2013 “NSHMBA Louisville Fundraising & Awards Gala”. NSHMBA, Louisville, KY
“Dis-semblance: Projecting and Perceiving Identity”. 21c Museum, Cincinnati, OH
“Acuarelas III”. Lombillo Palace, Havana, Cuba
2012 Scope -Art Basel, Miami, Hardcore Art Contemporary Space.
“Latin Views”. Alexey Von Schlippe Gallery, Groton, Connecticut
2011 “Mada New Media Festival’11”. Hardcore Art Contemporary Space, Miami, FL
“Contemporary Realism”. Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
“Acuerelas II”. Lombillo Palace, Havana, Cuba
2010 “Fronteras Desdibujadas” Periquera Colonial Museum, Holguin, Cuba
"EKLEKTICITY." George Rodez Gallery, Miami, FL
2009 “Drove my wife crazy”. Pyro Gallery, Louisville, KY
2008 “Cuban Artists”. Rome, Italy
”Dachshund, a Legend”. Humboldt professorship, University of Havana. Havana,
Cuba
AWARDS
2020 Honorable Mention, 2020 International Photography Awards, Los Angeles, CA
Honorable Mention, 2020 Prix de la Photographie de Paris, Paris, France
Fine Art Photographer of the Year, 2020 Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
Gold Award, 2020 Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
Gold Award, 2020 Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
Honorable Mention, International Color Awards, Beverly Hills, CA
2019 Honorable Mention, 2019 Tokio International Photo Awards, Tokio, Japan
Bronze Award, 2019 Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
2018 Honorable Mention, 30th Anual Decatur Arts Festival, Decatur, GA
2017 Museum Guild Purchase Award, Evansville Museum, Evansville, IN
Museum Contemporaries Purchase Award, Evansville Museum, Evansville,
Members' Purchase Award, Evansville Museum, Evansville, IN
Jeanne Bowman Ellenstein Purchase Award, Evansville Museum, Evansville, IN
2016 Ox Bow Merit Scholarship, Ox-Bow School of Art, Saugatuck, MI
Capital Professional Development Program, 21c Museum, Louisville, KY
2015 SAIC Distinguished Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of
Chicago, Chicago, IL
SAIC Grants, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Kurtich Travel Scholarship, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2012 Key to the City of Louisville by Mayor Greg Fischer, Louisville, KY
2011 Norman Kohlepp Merit Awards. Louisville Visual Art Association, Louisville, KY
2010 Capital Professional Development Program, 21c Museum, Louisville.
2009 “Dreammakers” Artist in Residence. Muhammad Ali Center, Louisville, KY
2008 City Award. Visual Art Association, Holguín, Cuba
2007 Best Performance. XXI Provincial Visual Art Exhibition, Holguín, Cuba
Best Short Film in the Seventh National Festival of Audiovisual “By First Time”. Cuba
2006 Exhibit of Illustrated Poetry. Holguin Gallery, Holguin, Cuba
COLLECTIONS
Maker’s Mark Distillery, KY
Evansville Museum, Evansville, IN
21C Museum, Louisville, KY
Fashion Resource Center, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Cuba Ocho Museum & Performing Art Center, Miami, FL
Polanco’s Collection, Havana, Cuba
Louisville’s Metro Hall, Louisville, KY
Gamez de Francisco´s works are also in private collections in the United States, Spain, Luxembourg, Ecuador, Italy, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Mexico.
PUBLIC PROJECTS
2020 Horse Trilogy commissioned by Breeder’s Cup, Maker’s Mark, and Keeneland, Lexington, KY
2019 Mural commissioned by Origin Lexington Hotel, Lexington, KY
2017 Mural commissioned by Google and LVA, Louisville, KY
OTHERS
2012 La Boca del Lobo International Film Festival, Madrid, Spain
2010 “3rd Annual KY Short Film & Video Showcase”. 21C Museum, Louisville, KY
2007 VII National Festival of Audiovisual “By First Time”, Holguin, Cuba
ARTIST STATEMENT
I was born in post-revolutionary Cuba in 1987 and educated in an academic style heavily influenced by the Russian Academy. This frame of reference is evident in all of my work. To deny my experiences, perceptions and the influence of history would be ignoring my own existence. These influences are the lens through which I create and the motivation that propels me.
As a Cuban, history has influenced me in a variety of ways. On the one hand, it allows me to rethink the way storytelling is part of our memories. On the other, it allows me to question the accuracy of history and its telling. This conflict absorbed me during my early years and continues to engage me as I complete my artistic education. Currently, this near obsession with the past translates into figures, scenarios, and most importantly, the creation of my own stories.
In Cuba, I was exposed to the influence of the figurative arts by the presence of the Russian Academy. This presence, as well as the censorship of contemporary art and the limited access to information, was the accepted dogma. Consequently, I understood that de-contextualizing epochs and artistic symbols was the tool I could use to establish a connection between the present and the past. The resulting work provides an escape from reality and creates an illusory world. I am more interested in altering history than depicting it accurately.
Taking reference from the core values of the Enlightenment, I believe in the use of reason as it alludes to the themes of power and hierarchy. This notion is reinforced by the recurrent use of portraiture and/or the use of round shapes to signify balance and purity. Now I focus on finding a provocative way to approach the established norms of perfection and beauty. I use these techniques and ideas to support the visual discourse but not as the most outstanding element of my work. This concept of revisiting and manipulating history explores the elements of repetition, excessive decoration and obscene abundance.
These images presented here refer to an apparent sense of happiness and well-being which in turn, insinuates a nonexistent time. Thus, themes and specific figures are examples of distorted reality illustrating my perceptions about life. I focus on modifying historical periods, fashion, images and contexts using insects, whether realistically represented or not, as imaginary elements recreating new contexts. Mainly, I recreate my experiences and memories by superimposing and manipulating historical figures and events.
Finally, understanding beauty in its various forms is the motivation for experimenting with non-conventional materials. My general approach is to demystify classical beauty and present it as a natural process and in its natural form.
