Francisco Valverde was born in 1972 and raised in Cuernavaca, Mexico, of a Cuban father and Mexican mother. Early in his career, he was known for his work in contemporary figurative painting. While teaching traditional techniques and large format painting at Morelense Center for the Arts (Centro Morelense de las Artes), Francisco became inspired by his students’ search for their individual expression, which lead to his own quest for a new artistic practice.
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Francisco began working on large canvases, using bottle dispensers filled with colorful synthetic materials instead of traditional paints and brushes. His goal was to recreate the essential element within drawing and painting: the line. The resulting lines were imperfect and denied the traditional representative characteristic of a line, or what Francisco describes as “righteousness.” These paintings formed a rhythmic structure in which a certain order was realized. This was the start of his new direction.

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Francisco’s current work utilizes plastic materials to build complexity. These paintings utilize powerful lines with direction, suggestive backgrounds, mysterious forms, and varying depths to create a story. Obsession and freedom are two words that Francisco uses to describe his current work: the obsession of daily routine, and the freedom he experimented with as a child drawing and scribbling on a piece of paper for the very first time. He recognizes that perhaps a certain commitment to tradition survives in the smooth finishes of his paintings. These paintings also remind the artist of the colorful, shiny candies he used to eat as a child at local fairs.

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Education
Bachelor in Fine Arts, Art Center College of Design, Pasadena, CA

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Solo Exhibitions
2022 Astral, Galerie LeRoyer, Toronto, CA
2022 Untitled, DTR Modern Gallery, Boston, MA
2020 Solace in Solitude, College of Marin Fine Arts Gallery, Marin, CA
2020 Kings and Queens, Galerie LeRoyer Montreal, Quebec, CA
2020 Hidden Truths, Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Forth Wayne, IN
2019 (in) organicus, Galerie LeRoyer, Montreal, CA
2018 Orden y Caos, NM Arte Contemporaneo, Cuernavaca Morelos, MX 2018 Dripping with Color, Julie Zener Gallery, Mill Valley, CA
2017 Simulacrum, JLS Gallery, Mexico City, MX
2015 Gravita, Galeria El Laberinto de los Sentidos, Jardines de Mexico, Jojutla, Morelos, MX
2014 Entramados, Galeria Alfredo Ginocchio, Mexico City, MX
2007 Lovely Creatures, Mexican Consulate, San Francisco, CA
2005 Icono-Hombres, Centro Morelense de las Artes, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MX
2004 Episodes, Dózsa Community Center, Budapest, HU
2004 El Mundo de los Dioses, Galeria La Habana, Mexico City, MX
2002 Recorridos por el tiempo, Galeria Praxis, Mexico City, MX
2001 En Busca de la Palabra, Galeria 123 Art Gallery, San Salvador, SV
2001 En Busca de la Palabra, Galeria Praxis, Mexico City, MX
2000 Viajeros, Galeria Praxis, Mexico City, MX

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Group Exhibitions
2021 Color, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2020 Transiciones, Centro Cultural Jardin Borda, Cuernavaca, Morelos,
2020 Sala Blanco y Negro, Espacio Union, Mexico City, MX
2019 Insitum, Las Campanas, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MX
2019 Summer in SOMA, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2019 Latitud, Museo Morelense de Arte Contemporaneo Juan Soriano, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MX
2019 Out of Town, Andrea Schwartz Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2018 Obra en Obra, in-site architectural intervention, Mexico City, MX
2017 Work x 5, Clark Gallery, Lincoln, MA
2017 XVII Bienal de Pintura Rufino Tamayo, Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico City, MX
2017 XVII Bienal de Pintura Rufino Tamayo, Casa de la Cultura de Celaya, Celaya, Guanajuato, MX
2017 Mood Swings, Oliver Cole Gallery, Miami, FL
2016 XVII Bienal de Pintura Rufino Tamayo, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MX
2015 VII Bienal de Artes Visuales de Yucatan, Centro de Artes Visuales, Merida, Yucatan, MX
2015 Alter Pop Explosion, NM Art Gallery, Cuernavaca, Morelos, MX
2015 SMART Art Festival, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, MX
2013 Sexta Subasta Arte Sana, Museo Nacional de Antropología e Historia, Mexico City, MX
2009 Encuentro Internacional de Grabado No Tóxico, Parque Fundidora, Monterrey, Nuevo Leon, MX
2005 XII Bienal Rufino Tamayo, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MX
2005 XII Bienal Rufino Tamayo, Museo de Arte de Queretaro, Queretaro, MX
2005 XII Bienal Rufino Tamayo, Galeria del Centro de Difusion Cultural, Instituto Potosino de Bellas Artes, San Luis Potosi, MX
2005 XII Bienal Rufino Tamayo, Museo de Arte de Sinaloa, Culiacan, Sinaloa, MX
2004 XII Bienal Rufino Tamayo, Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico, City, MX
2003 Castas, Galeria Oscar Roman, Mexico City, MX
2003 Lo que ves no es todo lo que hay, Galeria La Habana, Mexico City, MX
2003 Subasta de Arte Mexicano, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo Ateneo de Yucatan,Merida, Yucatan, MX
2003 XXIII Encuentro Nacional de Arte Joven, Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Aguascalientes, Aguascalientes, MX

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Awards and Grants
2016 Acquisition prize, XVII Bienal de Pintura Rufino Tamayo
2015 VII Bienal de Artes Visuales de Yucatan
2009 Creadores con Trayectoria, Fondo de Estimulos a la Creacion (FOECA)
2004 XII Bienal Rufino Tamayo
2004 Jovenes Creadores, Fondo de Estimulos a la Creacion (FOECA)
2003 XXIII Encuentro Nacional de Arte Joven

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Art Fairs
2023 Art Market San Francisco, HOFA Gallery, San Francisco, CA
2023 Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary, HOFA Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2023 LA Art Show, Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2022 Art Miami, HOFA Gallery, Miami, FL
2022 Art Market The Hamptons, Lurie Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
2022 Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary, HOFA Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2022 LA Art Show, Bruce Lurie Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2021 Art Toronto, Galerie LeRoyer, Toronto, CA
2021 Context Art Miami, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2019 Context Art Miami, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2019 SOFA Chicago, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2019 Art Market The Hamptons, Evan Lurie Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
2019 Art Wynwood, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2019 Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary, Evan Lurie Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2018 Context Art Miami, Oliver Cole Gallery, Miami, FL
2018 Art Market The Hamptons, Evan Lurie Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
2018 Art Wynwood, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2018 Palm Beach Modern and Contemporary, Evan Lurie Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2017 Scope Art Show Miami, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2017 Art Wynwood, Oliver Cole Gallery, Miami, FL
2016 Art Palm Beach, Evan Lurie Gallery, Palm Beach, FL
2016 Scope Art Show Miami, Evan Lurie Gallery, Miami, FL
2016 Art Market The Hamptons, Evan Lurie Gallery, Bridgehampton, NY
2013 Art Wynwood, Alfredo Ginocchio Art Gallery, Miami, FL
2012 Art Wynwood, Alfredo Ginocchio Art Gallery, Miami, FL
2002 FIA, Galeria Praxis, Caracas, VZ 2001 ART Miami, Galeria Praxis, Miami, FL

Collections
Museo de Arte Contemporaneo de Oaxaca, Oaxaca, MX
Fort Wayne Museum of Art, Fort Wayne, IN
Watergate Building, Washington D.C.
Consejo para la Cultura y las Artes de Nuevo Leon (CONARTE), Monterrey, NL
SV Latam Capital, San Francisco, CA
Salma Hayek