Spring III, 2023

Carlos Gamez de Francisco  

Gamez de Francisco paints and photographs very passionately, making statements filled with symbolism. He frequently includes insects in his artwork. He says: Flying insects represent FREEDOM; Falling insects represent CHAOS; When they are lying down, they represent BALANCE.

His classical training was based on portraits and history, paintings that Royalty and the very wealthy upper class would commission. Garments were exquisite, surroundings emanating wealth. But Carlos felt that “Everybody has the right to be in the portrait" and he embarked on a series where everyday people were featured with 'found' objects in their home, like lace doilies, curtains, plastic bags, and kitchen towels, draped and adorned in such a way they appeared 'royal'.

His paintings of furniture tend to be over-decorated, a nod perhaps, to that of the wealthy, but maybe more as a result of a childhood memory. In Cuba, his mother saved for two years to purchase a new sofa. It was such a sign of achievement for her that it was kept in plastic and no one was allowed to sit on it. He learned to admire it from a distance as if he were in a museum.

After arriving in the United States, he noticed the lavish attention we devote to our pets, spoiling them and allowing them to lounge on the sofa. This led to a new series: “Keep Your Pets Off Furniture". This series not only had dogs laying on the sofa but had horses jumping on the elaborately decorated couch. Today, Gamez de Francisco's Afghan Hound has the run of the house, lounging wherever he likes. Living in Kentucky, horses are a favorite theme for Gamez de Francisco. In surrealist fashion, he combines horses with the human form, centaur-like, but in reverse – the horse's head with a human body. Or, maybe the head of a dear, a fox, a giraffe . . . and don't be surprised if the body is that of a beautiful woman attired in silk and finery.

Gamez de Francisco's work is exquisitely detailed, beautifully executed, and primarily – thought-provoking.