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The practice of Francisco Cortés explores the idea of inhabiting: does it happen only within physical architecture, or can we also inhabit other spaces, the mind, the body, a poem, a song? He builds imaginary spaces that the viewer can not only observe, but navigate.

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His work exists in the realm of the surreal and the enigmatic, where solitude, silence, poetry, and contemplation take form. Using both traditional graphite and digital techniques, he explores the mysterious and the unfamiliar: the moon, the night, the impossible, and the dreamlike.

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Light and shadow, geometry, perspective, windows, doors, mirrors, boots, the sea, and the moon are recurring elements, shaping spaces that invite introspection. In his graphite work, the choice of black and white is a deliberate analogy to piano keys: with just two types of keys, infinite melodies emerge, just as endless visual compositions can unfold from the interplay of light and darkness. Hidden within many of his pieces, sometimes subtly, sometimes overtly, are piano keys repeating the rhythm of 3-2-3-2-3, an underlying motif woven throughout his work.

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Inspired by artists such as M.C. Escher, Einar Turkowski, Giorgio de Chirico, Jungho Lee, Kandinsky, and Shaun Tan, his work seeks to inhabit the in-between, where reality bends, time slows, and meaning lingers in quiet, uncertain spaces.

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