ABOUT
Francisco was born in Empalme De Boaco, Nicaragua, and moved to the United States at the age of 11. From 2005 to 2009, he attended the prestigious New World School of the Arts, a renowned magnet high school in Miami, Florida. After graduating, he relocated to Kansas City, Missouri, where he enrolled at the Kansas City Art Institute on a full scholarship. In 2013, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in painting. He retained a Drugstore studio residency from 2016-2019. Francisco has exhibited his work across the United States.
Today, Francisco is focused on allowing art to guide his journey. He does not subscribe to the “starving artist” narrative; for him, money is simply a material within the artistic process, never the final outcome. He firmly believes that he is a creator that can accomplish anything and his art is made with love and freedom.
ARTIST STATEMENT
An important part of my creative practice is the ongoing challenge of working in multiple sketchbooks throughout the year. This process helps me keep ideas in motion and creates a living archive of thoughts, experiments, and visual language. Over time, these sketchbooks produce drawings that can stand alone as finished pieces or serve as blueprints for future work. This way of working allows my creativity to flow in both intentional and spontaneous ways.
Much of my art is built around a personal lexicon of symbols, some drawn from relationships, others pointing to broader themes like freedom and survival. I consider myself a mixed media artist who can make something out of anything I get my hands on. At the same time, I return often to the materials and techniques I know deeply to infuse compositions with symbolism and narrative. This approach brings a playful yet confident understanding of color, material, composition, and detail to my work.
Finally, I’m always asking myself: how can I push further and create work that feels new and refreshing? I want my pieces to exude beauty, mystery, and meaning. I invest clear curiosity, time, and energy into each one, which in turn invites the viewer to do the same.
