FRANCISCO DANIEL CABRERA
(CHEMICAL) PARADISE
Saturday, May 4 - Sunday, June 2, 2024
The Little Gallery
Reception: Saturday May 11, 5-7 pm
Artist Talk: Date Pending

The Arts Center at Duck Creek is pleased to announce the first exhibition of the season in the Little Gallery, featuring works by local artist Francisco Daniel Cabrera. The John Little Barn at the Arts Center at Duck Creek is open Thursdays through Sundays from 2 to 6 p.m. Admission to the exhibition and reception is free.

Cabrera embarked on this series in 2015. While employed at a gas station in Amagansett, NY, a seemingly mundane interaction—a customer's payment—unveiled an unexpected discovery: the compelling transformation of color on a receipt, caused by accidental smears of hand sanitizer. Captivated by this phenomenon, Cabrera brought the idea home, weaving rolls of receipt paper into larger sheets. By activating the thermal material with chemicals and pigments, he unveiled imaginative, vibrant realms beneath the uniform white paper. In a convergence of surrealism and abstract expressionism, Cabrera employs unorthodox substances to conjure fantastical worlds from the delicate white paper. Exploring the juncture of these artistic movements, he allows chemical reactions to unfold organically, guiding them to unveil hidden paradises. Through his choice of materials, viewers are prompted to contemplate the interplay of chemicals with contemporary American life, juxtaposing the concealed existences beneath the surface of those residing in an 'American Paradise' with those who seek it through immigration.

Francisco Daniel Cabrera, affectionately known as "Mijo," which translates to "my son" in Spanish, was born in 1989 in Cuenca, Ecuador, and has resided in East Hampton since 2009. In 2023, his work was included in the group exhibition “Somos: We Are Latinx Artists of Long Island” at the Long Island Museum (Smithtown, NY). He has shown with 484 Gallery (Montauk, NY), Golden Records (Brooklyn, NY), Ashawagh Hall (East Hampton, NY), Kathryn Markel Gallery (Bridgehampton, NY), Southampton Arts Center (Southampton, NY), Neoteric Fine Art (Amagansett, NY), and PhotoManhattan (New York, NY).