FRANCISCO RODRÍGUEZ

(Santiago, 1989)

Francisco Rodríguez’s painted characters express yet occlude the psychological and emotional experience of urban life. His canvases borrow elements from Japanese tradition while recycling motifs that resemble those of bohemian artists like Toulouse-Lautrec and Egon Schiele. The presence of distinct planes and well-defined silhouettes of various characters suggest self-absorption or impenetrability. Often portrayed in daylight—albeit on cold, wet and grey days like those of London, where Rodríguez lives and works—his figures are weighted with an air of exhaustion and depression, whose fount appear to be sad, profound, and recurrent histories.