Fernando Rodríguez
(b. Matanzas, 1970)
Fernando Rodríguez (Francisco de la Cal) graduated from the Elementary School of Arts in Matanzas (1985), the National School of Arts in Havana (1989) and the Superior Institute of Art in Havana (1994). He considers himself a collaborative artist. His partner and muse is a fictional character named Francisco de la Cal, a blind charcoal maker who is also a self-taught artist. De la Cal is Rodriguez's alter ego; the two have worked together since 1990. Some of his most important shows were Mandarria and Matraca: A Visit to the New Museum of Tropical Art (Center for the Development of Visual Arts, Havana, Cuba, 2007); Purely Formal (Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba, 2002); 2x1=X (Iturralde Gallery, Los Angeles, California, 2002); and From a Collective Experience (Habana Gallery, Havana, Cuba, 1999). He was an artist in residence at the Derouin Foundation in Val-David, Quebec, Canada (2009); the University of Cincinnati (2001), the Artist's Studio in Tel Aviv, Israel (2001), the Barbican Centre in London, United Kingdom (1999), the Banff Centre for the Arts in Alberta, Canada (1996), and the Gasworks Studios (London, 1995). His works are in the collections of the Ludwig Forum in Aachen, Germany; the National Museum of Fine Arts and the Wifredo Lam Center of Contemporary Art, both in Havana, Cuba; the Arizona State University Art Museum in Tempe, Arizona; the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation in Los Angeles, California; the AC Cultural Center of Contemporary Art in Mexico DF, Mexico; and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art at the University of Oregon in Eugene, Oregon.
