Rodriguez is one of the oldest artists in the exhibition. His work delves into the physical and material existence in Cuba. His recent works utilizes aluminum tubes that are used for both paint and toothpaste (each Cuban receives an allotment of toothpaste from the government). Rodriguez endows these tubes with sexual features thus creating a reproduction as recycling dialogue. Recycling is the cornerstone of survival in contemporary Cuba and is a common theme in Cuban Art. He uses the tubes because they are available and because they are representative of being "squeezed or pushed" ...squeezed as a Cuban, squeezed as an artist and squeezed as a human being. Rene¹ Francisco Rodriguez's solo exhibitions have been exhibited in Havana Cuba, Dusseldorf, Germany, and Berlin, Germany. His group exhibitions include the 1999 Venice Biennale, and shows in Zurich, Switzerland, Vancouver British Columbia and Berlin, Germany. René is a professor at the Instituto Superior de Arte.