The new solo exhibition “The Black Iconic” from Newark-based artist Ricardo Osmondo Francis opens at the Yonkers Public Library, Riverfront Art Gallery on Thurs., Feb. 2 at 5:30 p.m. in participation with the First Thursday Gallery Hop in downtown Yonkers.
“The Black Iconic is one of the most exciting and impactful exhibits we’ve ever had,” said Haifa
Bint-Kadi, curator and arts educator at the Riverfront Library. “Our community will be seen,
heard and affirmed which is a testament to the power of art and its ability to shape perceptions
and raise narratives that are often hidden or disappeared. Our gallery has been transformed into
a space for reflection and intimacy that will leave all observers feeling they’ve witnessed an
unforgettable moment in history.”
This exhibit features a wide array of Francis’ luminous paintings and is a brooding elegiac vision
of the Black visage delineated in both grand decadence and technically through densely
evocative images that are steeped in multicultural symbolism.
Francis’ work is inspired by the complexity of African American identity, mythology, and painting
itself, and examines how Black people are perceived both socially and politically on the world
stage through a spiritual gaze. The exhibition runs through March 26, 2023 and is curated by
Bint-Kadi.
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 in painting.
Inspired by Classical art, multi-ethnic antiquity, and present day advertisement imagery, Francis’
vivid pictorial works present a torrent of imagery culled from every possible corner of the visual
culture. His lush elaborately graphic surrealistic paintings and drawings often depict the social
constructs of humanity and the complexity of our existence through conceptually layered
portraiture, still life, and abstract compositions.
For more information about the Yonkers Public Library, visit www.ypl.org.
