Francisco Gonzalez, an award winner and internationally exhibited portrait photographer, was born in Caracas, Venezuela in 1991. He received his Bachelor of Fine Arts in Photography from The Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in 2015. His work has been exhibited in different galleries around the world, in countries such as Hong Kong, Venezuela and the USA. One of his recent exhibits was his Solo show at Oglethorpe Gallery in Savannah, Georgia during June 2015 with his newest body of work, Expat. He was selected to be part of Photo ’15 exhibition at Multiple Exposures Gallery, Alexandria, VA during the last quarter of 2015 where he received the Juror’s Award for his photograph “Expat, Bin” granted by Sarah Sarah Greenough, senior curator and head of the department of photographs at the National Gallery of Art.
His pieces are inspired by the cultural landscape in which he practices, and portray different cultural matters. His art is a study of the past, present and future of society, represented through different subjects such as architecture, youth and fashion. Francisco finds inspiration in his own experiences and uses it to create the narrative he wants to tell. Through his photography he begins to understand both himself and his humanity at a much deeper level.
Expat
Expat is a series of photographs that study the phenomenon of expatriates in the United States of America. I narrate my personal story from the diverse points of view of those who decided to emigrate as I did.
During the project I photograph people from Colombia to Mozambique and from Nigeria to China, portraying their different cultures and how they still manifest far away from home. People who come to complete a dream of education or just people who leave looking for a better place to live and work is what accomplishes the series. I juxtapose their culture within the space they now live, trying to show the differences and how its hard to loose your cultural heritage.
These photographic artworks serve as the starting point to an investigation surrounding these human beings; and are supported by a video that shows not only their own story, but more importantly displays their raw emotions.
To view more of Francisco’s work please visit his website.