René Francisco's First Italian Solo Show 'Cómplice' Opens at Kunst Meran Merano Arte
René Francisco's inaugural solo exhibition in Italy, titled 'Cómplice,' took place at Kunst Meran Merano Arte from 21 February to 25 May 2026, under the curation of Lucrezia Cippitelli and Simone Frangi. This showcase spanned over 40 years of his artistic journey, highlighting works from his pedagogical experiments at Havana's Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA) in the late 1980s to his contemporary pieces. The theme of 'complicity' emphasized connections within relationality and community engagement. A prominent sculpture, 'Cobijo' (2025), greeted attendees, while 'Manifesto Ocasional' (1990) articulated the concept of complicity in art. Earlier works included 'Proyecto Pilón' (1988–1989) and 'Desde Una Pragmática Pedagógica' (DUPP), along with the film 'Agua Benita' (2008) from 'Trilogía de Romerillo' (2003–2008). This exhibition was part of 'The Invention of Europe: A Tricontinental Narrative' (2024–2027).
Key facts
- 'Cómplice' was René Francisco's first solo exhibition in Italy, curated by Lucrezia Cippitelli and Simone Frangi
- The show ran at Kunst Meran Merano Arte from 21 February to 25 May 2026
- The exhibition spanned more than forty years of Francisco's practice, from late-1980s ISA experiments to recent work
- The curators organised the show around 'complicity' as a connective principle in Francisco's practice
- 'Cobijo' (2025), a large-scale open-armed black figure, greeted visitors at the exhibition entrance
- 'Proyecto Pilón' (1988–1989) was undertaken in Pilón, in the eastern province of Granma
- DUPP (Desde Una Pragmática Pedagógica) was initiated with students from Havana's Instituto Superior de Arte
- 'Agua Benita' (2008) belongs to 'Trilogía de Romerillo' (2003–2008)
- The exhibition formed part of 'The Invention of Europe: A Tricontinental Narrative' (2024–2027)
- 'Animacies' ran 14 June–11 October 2026 as the programme's next chapter
Entities
Artists
- René Francisco
- Lucrezia Cippitelli
- Simone Frangi
- Benita
- Pierre Bourdieu
- Paulo Freire
- Rachel Weiss
- Fidel Castro
- Ernesto 'Che' Guevara
- Jürgen Habermas
- Aníbal Quijano
- V. Y. Mudimbe
- Mel Y. Chen
- Kazimir Malevich
- Joseph Beuys
- Shivanjani Lal
- Bekhbaatar Enkhtur
- Elia Nurvista
- Adolfo Izquierdo
- Ivo Corrà
- Nicolas Bourriaud
- Claire Bishop
- Grant H. Kester
- Pablo Helguera
- Danné Ojeda
- Lee S. Shulman
- Andrea Fraser
- Victoria J. Barnett
- Carmelo Mesa-Lago
- Natalie Göltenboth
- Chema González
- René Francisco Rodríguez Hernández
- Carlos Quijano
Institutions
- Kunst Meran Merano Arte
- Instituto Superior de Arte (ISA)
- NERO Editions
- Volume Uno
- Havana Biennial
- Centro José Guerrero
- Blog del Guerrero
- Greenwood Press
- Duke University Press
- University of Minnesota Press
- MIT Press
- Beacon Press
- Cambridge University Press
- Stanford University Press
- Les Presses du réel
- Artforum International
- October
- Nepantla: Views from South
- Studies in Art Education
- Daedalus
- Ethnoscripts
- Estudios Internacionales
- ArteCubano Ediciones
- Milano University Press
- Digicult Publishing
- Fundação Bienal de Artes Visuais do Mercosul
- University of California Press
- Herder and Herder
- Marcha
Locations
- Meran
- Merano
- Italy
- South Tyrol
- Havana
- Cuba
- Pilón
- Granma
- Nuevo Vedado
- La Habana
- Romerillo
- Europe
- Africa
- Latin America
- Asia
- Bangladesh
- Indonesia
- Mongolia
- Philippines
- Fiji Islands
- West Africa
- Soviet Union
- Eastern Europe