A State of Metamorphosis with Franky Cruz and Francisco de la Torre

On Saturday, November 14, we visited Spinello Projects for a private studio tour with artists Franky Cruz and Francisco de la Torre. Gathering at the Gesamtkunstwerk building, translated “total work of art”, the space was filled with an atmosphere of exchange and learning. Members were invited to see the artists’ creative and art-making process firsthand, and were guided through the expansive studio/gallery/special project place by art dealer and curator Anthony Spinello.

Francisco De La Torre’s SOS: Self Organizing Systems effortlessly blended two- and three-dimensional works, including botanical design objects and paintings on canvas. The artist’s debut solo exhibition with the gallery is Informed by the “holon” as described by Arthur Koestler in his book The Ghost in the Machine, and by individual specimens of plants. His focus on natural elements extended to every aspect of the show, as the artist used natural pigments and processes that leaned heavily sustainable. As Francisco explains, “SOS addresses the current challenging of established social systems. In nature, self organizing systems hierarchical archetypes are structured for change from the bottom up, with no supreme level to which others can be reduced. The perspective results in a holistic view of the universe, and a society where energy and resources flow through the system.”

Adjacent to SOS is Franky Cruz’s 1.618, a dedicated suite of small to large scale paintings and wall works that were created between 2017-2020 in the artist’s butterfly laboratory, Vivarium Meconium. In his lab—a geodesic dome—butterflies are reared from egg, to caterpillar, then to chrysalis in which they are suspended over watercolor paper capturing the meconium fluid (emergence secretions) in compositions ranging from dots, lines, and grids. The show, spanning multiple rooms, allowed viewers to understand the process, from start to completed art piece, showcasing the parallels of the metamorphosis of the creatures themselves and the resulting work that Franky creates.

Replete with moments of surprise, wonder and cocktails courtesy St-Germain, the day felt like a trip to a nature and science museum—only this time, the experiments and concepts revolved around art.