The Unkempt Head: Recent works by artist Calandrino Silvestre at Cranium Corporation, from February 27

The head is the seat of all primary senses for survival, it includes the olfactory system, the mouth, the eyes, and the ears. Some would even consider it as the seat of the human soul. As part of the body the head is the site believed to house the essence of our being, detached it is a ghastly reminder of execution, or perhaps a metaphor for having lost control of a situation (i.e. losing one’s head).

The Unkempt Head is an exhibition of monotypes by Puerto Rican artist Calandrino Silvestre, each reflecting on the form and function of the head. The selection of nine prints is a sample of the dozens of heads made for Calandrino Silvestre’s exhibition Cabeza Descuidada (translated roughly into ‘unkempt head’) held in 2013, where they covered the walls of a gallery space as a cumulous matrix.

Original presentation for Cabeza Descuidada, an exhibition held at the gallery of the Architecture Department at the University of Puerto Rico, in San Juan. — Original presentation for *Cabeza Descuidada (Unkempt Head),* an exhibition held in 2013 at the gallery of the Art Department at the University of Puerto Rico, in San Juan.

Accompanying the nine monotypes are three small painting collages, also by Calandrino Silvestre, inspired by the Steppenwolf novel by Herman Hesse, and a video art piece made exclusively for the San Francisco exhibition of The Unkempt Head.

We invite you to come see the work of a contemporary artist from San Juan, Puerto Rico, the first of a series of artists who will be invited to hold an exhibition of their recent work in San Francisco.

Here are some highlights: