Francisco Rodríguez Pino

Francisco Rodríguez was born in 1989 in Santiago, Chile. For Francisco Rodríguez, painting is not only a way of seeing or thinking, but, even more radically, a way of being seen, thinking and seeing aloud. His imagination clings to the mind like heavy wool or damp winter air. It consists of firmly delineated figures that populate dark or gray-toned landscapes: men in shadows, packs of dogs with red eyes, and crows that occupy the central space of a canvas. Rodríguez's canvases do not trade in conventional stories or attempt to portray realistic landscapes, beyond, that is, freely noting a few recognizable elements. Instead, they evoke atmospheres that propose questions rather than answers, enigmas rather than direct meanings. Taken together, these works are unexpected narratives, like Japanese haiku, full of insinuations and ambiguous ellipses. But it is not only in their meaningful projection that Rodríguez seems to establish his relationship with Japan; His flat painting of solid colors, his drawings and simple compositions also make reference to Japanese graphic animations and drawings.