Texto de la Invitación

We have great pleasure inviting you to the opening of the solo exhibition Pasta Cortada by Rene Francisco Rodriguez on October 18 in the new space of m:a contemporary., Berlin.

René  Francisco is an internationally acclaimed  artist, whose work is acknowledged by leading critics as of especial importance in establishing the international status of contemporary Cuban art. For most of the 90s he has focused on his teaching at the Instituto Superio de Arte in Havana, and exhibitions in public spaces. His show with the new Berlin gallery m:a contemporary is his first solo gallery show in Europe for over 10 years.

Francisco has shown at the Biennials of Venice, Havana and Sao Paolo. He has been the recipient of many artists residencies in Germany, Switzerland and the USA. In 2000 his work was recognised when Galerie DUPP, a collective of young artists founded by Francisco was awarded a Unesco Prize for the Arts. In 2001 Francisco was awarded an honorary doctorate in Fine Art from the San Francisco Art Institute.

His work, which includes installations, painting, drawing and performance, is rooted in the international contemporary discourse and sensibility. Beuys premise that art should be understood to include social action and intervention characterises much of his work.

The exhibition Pasta Cortada  continues Francisco’s  interest in the exploration of the relationship between the individual and society, and between art and politics.  The title of the exhibition, Pasta Cortada is an allusion to the way in which a homogeneous mass such as bread dough is kneaded into shape and then chopped (cortada) into different parts.

For Francisco,  manipulation and division are the processes by which the ruling political and economic structures control and shape the lives of the ?mass’ of the population. The works in the show, which include paintings, drawings, installations  and objects, explore these themes in relation to both authoritarian  and self-styled democratic societies, as well as to the structures  and processes of consumerism – including those of the  art market .

Franciscos’ works in his new show, which include new paintings, drawings and installation objects, illustrate how dominant discourses of power, culture or the market seek to manipulate the freedom and values of the individual, whether in the sociopolitical context (divide et impere) or in the cultural and consumer values, including those of the art market. Like all of his work, it is characterised by a pungent irony, originality of ideas, innovative use of materials, and by outstanding technique. His painting in particular is remarkable for its highly original and meticulously executed pointilliism.

We look forward to welcoming you to this important and exciting exhibition either during the opening or in the course of the show which runs until November 18th.

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The gallery will also show works of Rene Francisco at the forthcoming Palm Beach Contemporary Art Fair,  January 13 – 16, 2006.
Ian Meiklejohn & Fee Altmann.