Ricardo Osmondo-Francis

Biography

Ricardo Osmondo-Francis was born September 8, 1976 in Houston, Texas. He attended the Maryland Institute College of Art in Baltimore, MD, and received a BFA in 1998. He is a founding member of BLAFTCO, an alternative visual art group where Francis first began conceptualizing and developing large scaled art projects and art exhibits. Since 1992, he has created a wide variety of community based, innovative multi-media projects and exhibitions such as The New Museum (1994), Public Opinion (1996), and All Sizes/Real People (1997). In 2000 Mr. Francis developed his own visual arts company, called Apanamae Productions. At that time the artist produced solo exhibits for his own work such as "Exhibit A" (2002) and "New sKIN" (2003). Recent solo exhibits by the artist include "MYTHIC POETIC" (2016), "RE:VIEW" (2018), "TO BE CONTINUED" (2020), "2020", which premiered first in Houston at The Community Artist's Collective and traveled to Newark and West Orange, NJ in January 2021. His most recent solo exhibit "The Black Iconic" premiered in February of last year at the Riverfront Art Gallery in Yonkers, NY. Francis lives in New York City, NJ and his studio is in Newark, NJ at Project for Empty Space.

Artist Statement

"My work is a response to the political and social upheaval of our time. Through mixed media collage and painting, I create visual narratives that document and interrogate the moments that define us as a nation. Each piece is a conversation starter, a mirror held up to society, asking us to look closely at who we are and who we want to become. I believe art has the power to provoke thought, inspire dialogue, and ultimately contribute to social change. My practice is rooted in the belief that artists have a responsibility to bear witness to history as it unfolds, to capture not just the events themselves, but the emotions, tensions, and contradictions that surround them."

Works in Exhibition

Available for Purchase