Francisco Rodriguez

Midday Demon

September 7–October 12, 2019
Opening Reception: September 7, 6–8pm

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Aridity</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 78 3/4 x 65 inches (200 x 165 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Backyard</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Caretaker</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 78 3/4 x 66 7/8 inches (200 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Green Corner</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> In the Garden</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> The Beast.</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Corner</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Dog at Night</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Garden with men</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Lying</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Nativo</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Street at night</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> The Football Pitch</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> The Thing</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez.<em> Young Man</em>, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Midday Demon. Installation view, Steve Turner, 2019

Francisco Rodriguez. Aridity, 2019. Oil on canvas, 78 3/4 x 65 inches (200 x 165 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Backyard, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Caretaker, 2019. Oil on canvas, 78 3/4 x 66 7/8 inches (200 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Green Corner, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. In the Garden, 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. The Beast., 2019. Oil on canvas, 82 5/8 x 66 7/8 inches (210 x 170 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Corner, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Dog at Night, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Garden with men, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Lying, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Nativo, 2019. Oil on canvas, 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Street at night, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. The Football Pitch, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. The Thing, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

Francisco Rodriguez. Young Man, 2019. Oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 5/8 inches (60 x 50 cm)

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Steve Turner is pleased to present Midday Demon, a solo exhibition of new paintings by London-based Francisco Rodriguez, most of which feature an isolated male figure within a desolate urban landscape. In some, the figure is upright and smoking a cigarette. In others, he appears to have passed out. The artist describes the bleak setting as one that fosters exhaustion, listlessness, sadness, dejection, restlessness, anxiety and depression. Rodriguez observed the phenomena of the “midday demon” while growing up in Santiago, one of the largest cities in South America; again in London where he has lived for the last five years; and also during a recent residencies in Poland and Ukraine. He ponders the effects of the oppressive midday sun and wonders if such “spirits” actually do appear at that hour. Are his figures victims of some “midday demon”; or are they the demons themselves?

Francisco Rodriguez (b. 1989, Santiago) earned a BFA and a post-graduate degree in painting at the University of Chile, Santiago (2012 &; 2013) before earning an MFA at the Slade School of Fine Art, London (2018). He has had recent solo exhibitions at Galeria Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife (2018) and Cooke Latham, London (2018). This is Rodriguez’ first solo exhibition at Steve Turner.

Born 1989, Santiago
Lives and works in London

Education

2018 MFA, Slade School of Fine Art, University College London
2013 PGD, Painting, University of Chile, Santiago
2012 BFA, University of Chile, Santiago

Selected Solo Exhibitions
2019
Midday Demon, Steve Turner, Los Angeles
Galeria Leyendecker, Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain

2018
The Burning Plain, Cooke Latham Gallery, London
Utopías y desvelos, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago
2017
Ático, Espacio O, Santiago
2013
Lo invisible del Espacio, Sala Juan Egenau, Santiago

Selected Group Exhibitions
2019
ARCO Lisbon with Galeria Leyendecker, Lisbon
FBA Futures 2019, Mall Galleries / Federation of British Artists, London
Painting Programme, Assembly House, Leeds
Art Lima with Galería AFA, Lima
I LOVE PAINT, Patel Gallery, Toronto
Colectiva 92, Galería AFA, Santiago
2018
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018, South London Gallery
Ch.ACO 2018, Galeria AFA, Santiago
Gradual, Thrown Gallery, London
Bloomberg New Contemporaries 2018, Liverpool John Lennon University, Liverpool
Degree Show 2018, Slade School of Fine Art, London
Independencia, Centro Cultural Gabriela Mistral, Santiago
2017
Reserva Federal, Espacio O, Santiago
Imagen Vibratoria, Museo Nahim Isaías, Guayaquil, Ecuador
Espacios Legítimos, curated by Martín La Roche, Universidad Popular, CA2M, Madrid
Haciendo días, curated by Juan José Santos, CENTEX, Valparaíso, Chile
Colección MAC: Post 90, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago
FAITH, Austin Forum, Augustinian Centre, London
Progress : Regress, Crypt Gallery, London
2014
Caja Negra Artes Visuales 30 años, Museum of Visual Arts (MAVI) Santiago
Sub30, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago
2012
Criacuervos, Hangarnekoe, Santiago
2011
Taller B, Espacio Flor, Santiago
Error, Pasaje 17 Gallery, Buenos Aires
Historia forzada: bifurcaciones de arte joven, Sala Juan Egenau, Santiago
Kontagios, Universidad del Pacífico, Santiago
De la pintura, Sala Juan Egenau, Santiago
2010
Vaccine virus weakened, Wschodnia Gallery, Lodz, Poland
Espacio Contenido, Museum of Contemporary Art, Santiago
Sudaca Paradise, Scuola Italiana, Santiago

Residency
2011
Museum of Modern Art, Chiloé, Chile

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