Diaz Contemporary is pleased to present a series of new paintings by Francisco Castro. This will be the artist's fourth solo show with the gallery. The exhibition, entitled Point and Lines, continues the artist's in depth exploration of the grid. However, the works unveiled here are also a departure from Castro's earlier endeavours with the introduction of the curve.
For the past decade, Castro has ambitiously explored the grid in relation to graphic practices of drawing. These new works consider the existence of organic form in relation to the memory of the grid's foundation. Castro's neutral backgrounds only hint towards a grid, and the journey of his forms and lines dominate the canvas. The variations of colour and degrees of transparency suggest a playfulness within these formal exercises, creating illusions of depth and presence of shapes.
The flatness of the canvas is hereby challenged, as the wavering opacity of lines and forms suggest their movement behind and beside one another. Smudges, pencil marks and other intentional imperfections further hint at a looseness amongst the carefully considered compositions. These tenuous relationships are also emphasized by Castro's continuing interest in bold colours and strong lines, which here occasionally appear muted and softened.
The title of the exhibition, Point and Lines, makes reference to theories of abstraction by Russian abstract painter, Wassily Kandinsky. Nevertheless, Castro maintains no conscious relation to Kandinsky's work, except for sharing the most basic reality of visual construction: the ever-presence of points and lines on the surface.
Castro, based in Mexico City, is one of Mexico's most prominent abstract painters. He exhibits extensively throughout North America, with recent solo shows at Gebert Contemporary in Santa Fe and Howard Scott Gallery in New York City. His work is held in many public and private collections including: the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (New York City), the San Antonio Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art (Mexico City), Museo Rufino Tamayo (Mexico City) and the Jumex Collection (Mexico City).
  
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