Carlos Gamez de Francisco
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As a post-revolutionary Cuban born artist, Carlos Gamez de Francisco paints a bright distorted reality in which he demystifies classical beauty and presents it as more of a natural process in its natural form. The figures in his portraiture-style artworks are superimposed and manipulated through the artist’s own experiences of historical figures and events.
Francisco’s style is heavily influenced by his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting. This presence exposed Francisco to the world of figurative arts while censoring contemporary art. His near-obsession with the past and storytelling translates into his work, which provides an escape from reality while creating an illusory world.
Gamez de Francisco received his BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally as well as shown in many private and public collections including the 21c Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Cubaocho Museum in Miami, Florida. Francisco has received numerous awards and commissions including a mural for Google.
As a post-revolutionary Cuban born artist, Carlos Gamez de Francisco imbues his portraiture-style artworks with a bright, distorted reality that challenges the classical aesthetics of yesteryear. Through superimposition and manipulation, he deconstructs and reconstructs the figures in his paintings, incorporating his personal experiences and knowledge of historical figures and events.
Francisco's oeuvre reflects the influences of his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting, where the emphasis on figurative art was at odds with the censorship of contemporary artistic expression. The artist's nonconformist spirit led him to reexamine the veracity of history and its representation, resulting in a decontextualization of epochs and artistic symbols. This approach allows him to bridge the past and present, creating a connection that challenges our perception of the historical narrative.
Francisco's artistic practice is steeped in a near-obsessive dedication to storytelling and the past, resulting in the creation of an illusory world that provides an escape from reality. Through this process, he transforms classical beauty into a natural process, demystifying its traditional allure while simultaneously redefining it. The result is a provocative and engaging body of work that invites the viewer to question their own understanding of history, beauty, and the human condition.
Gamez de Francisco received his BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally as well as shown in many private and public collections including the 21c Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Cubaocho Museum in Miami, Florida. Francisco has received numerous awards and commissions including a mural for Google.
SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Forbidden Garden, The Grogan Gallery, Houston, TX
Femme Fuerte, Monica Graham Fine Art, Carmel, CA
Gilded Age Fashion, Karen Anderer Fine Art, Lancaster, PA
New Works, Portland Art Gallery, Portland, ME
Bloom, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2021 The Figurative Filter, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Six Shades of Sunlight, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
New Wok, Portland Art Gallery, Portland, Maine
New Work, CV Art and Frame, Zionsville, IN
2020 Dancing on the Couch, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Keeneland Couture, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
Personality Plus, Kore Gallery, Louisville, KY
2019 New Works, 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”. 21c Museum, Bentonville, AR
2014 “Troubling Beauty”. 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
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Art Market San Francisco, Slate Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Celebrating Contemporary Latinx Artists, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Alluring Beauty, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Collective Imagination: Art Right Now, Chauvet Art, Nashville, TN
Garden Party, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY2021 SCOPE Art Fair, The CAMP Gallery, Miami, FL
Affordable Art Fair NYC, Artplex Gallery, NY
Figuratively Speaking, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
Supernova, The Grogan Gallery, Houston, TX
Face It, Jack Rabbit Gallery, Houston, TX
Afterimage; Sensations of Colors, Nashville, TN
Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Bloom, Bev’s Fine Art, Raleigh, NC
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
“Keep your Clothes ON”, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
30th Annual 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, 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
2021 Platinum Winner 2021, Muse Photography Awards, NY
Fischer Award, Louisville Visual Art, Louisville, KY
Honorable Mention, 2020 International Photography Awards, Los Angeles, CA
Honorable Mention, 2020 Prix de la Photographie de Paris, Paris, France
Honorable Mention, Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
Honorable Mention, International Juried Photography Exhibition, Praxis Photo Arts Center, MN
Nominee, Fine Art Photography Awards, London, UK
2020 Gold Award, 2020 Tokyo International Foto Awards, Tokyo, Japan
Honorable Mention, 2020 International Photography Awards, Los Angeles, CA
Honorable Mention, 2020 Prix de la Photographie de 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 Tokyo International Photo Awards, Tokyo, Japan
Bronze Award, 2019 Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
2018 Honorable Mention, 30th Annual Decatur Arts Festival, Decatur, GA
2017 Museum Guild 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
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
Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville, KY
La Periquera Museum, Holguin, Cuba
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
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
TV & FILM
How I Met Your Father
As a post-revolutionary Cuban born artist, Carlos Gamez de Francisco imbues his portraiture-style artworks with a bright, distorted reality that challenges the classical aesthetics of yesteryear. Through superimposition and manipulation, he deconstructs and reconstructs the figures in his paintings, incorporating his personal experiences and knowledge of historical figures and events.
Francisco's oeuvre reflects the influences of his Cuban upbringing in a Russian governed academia setting, where the emphasis on figurative art was at odds with the censorship of contemporary artistic expression. The artist's nonconformist spirit led him to reexamine the veracity of history and its representation, resulting in a decontextualization of epochs and artistic symbols. This approach allows him to bridge the past and present, creating a connection that challenges our perception of the historical narrative.
Francisco's artistic practice is steeped in a near-obsessive dedication to storytelling and the past, resulting in the creation of an illusory world that provides an escape from reality. Through this process, he transforms classical beauty into a natural process, demystifying its traditional allure while simultaneously redefining it. The result is a provocative and engaging body of work that invites the viewer to question their own understanding of history, beauty, and the human condition.
Gamez de Francisco received his BFA from the Art Institute of Chicago in 2016. His work has been exhibited nationally and internationally as well as shown in many private and public collections including the 21c Museum in Louisville, Kentucky, and the Cubaocho Museum in Miami, Florida. Francisco has received numerous awards and commissions including a mural for Google.
SELECT SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2022 Forbidden Garden, The Grogan Gallery, Houston, TX
Femme Fuerte, Monica Graham Fine Art, Carmel, CA
Gilded Age Fashion, Karen Anderer Fine Art, Lancaster, PA
New Works, Portland Art Gallery, Portland, ME
Bloom, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
2021 The Figurative Filter, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Six Shades of Sunlight, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
New Wok, Portland Art Gallery, Portland, Maine
New Work, CV Art and Frame, Zionsville, IN
2020 Dancing on the Couch, Miller Gallery, Cincinnati, OH
Keeneland Couture, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
Personality Plus, Kore Gallery, Louisville, KY
2019 New Works, 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”. 21c Museum, Bentonville, AR
2014 “Troubling Beauty”. 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
SELECT GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2022 Art Market San Francisco, Slate Contemporary, Oakland, CA
Celebrating Contemporary Latinx Artists, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Alluring Beauty, Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Collective Imagination: Art Right Now, Chauvet Art, Nashville, TN
Garden Party, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY2021 SCOPE Art Fair, The CAMP Gallery, Miami, FL
Affordable Art Fair NYC, Artplex Gallery, NY
Figuratively Speaking, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
Supernova, The Grogan Gallery, Houston, TX
Face It, Jack Rabbit Gallery, Houston, TX
Afterimage; Sensations of Colors, Nashville, TN
Artplex Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Bloom, Bev’s Fine Art, Raleigh, NC
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
“Keep your Clothes ON”, New Editions Gallery, Lexington, KY
30th Annual 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, 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
2021 Platinum Winner 2021, Muse Photography Awards, NY
Fischer Award, Louisville Visual Art, Louisville, KY
Honorable Mention, 2020 International Photography Awards, Los Angeles, CA
Honorable Mention, 2020 Prix de la Photographie de Paris, Paris, France
Honorable Mention, Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
Honorable Mention, International Juried Photography Exhibition, Praxis Photo Arts Center, MN
Nominee, Fine Art Photography Awards, London, UK
2020 Gold Award, 2020 Tokyo International Foto Awards, Tokyo, Japan
Honorable Mention, 2020 International Photography Awards, Los Angeles, CA
Honorable Mention, 2020 Prix de la Photographie de 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 Tokyo International Photo Awards, Tokyo, Japan
Bronze Award, 2019 Moscow International Photo Awards, Moscow, Russia
2018 Honorable Mention, 30th Annual Decatur Arts Festival, Decatur, GA
2017 Museum Guild 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
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
Muhammad Ali Museum, Louisville, KY
La Periquera Museum, Holguin, Cuba
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
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
TV & FILM
How I Met Your Father