Carita de Pez or Little Fishface Manuel Solano Acrylic on canvas 2022 René and I met in 2009 and we went to Restaurante Tokyo on one of our first dates. We were together for less than two years, but we have remained best friends ever since. Furthermore, René and I have been working together since late 2017, when he started assisting me with my paintings. Nowadays he is my manager, my ex-boyfriend, my best friend and my anchor and saviour angel. We have many cute sweet little nicknames for each other, but we usually call each other Fish. ...it was either the end of 2013 or the beginning of 2014, and, I didn’t know it, but it was the last time I would see René with my eyes. At that point, I had been ill for half a year, my skin open in sores and falling everywhere, but my eyes were only just starting to fail. He and me and my family went to lunch at Restaurante Tokyo, as we have been doing for over a decade now. I probably had their big menu plus a temaki sake no kawa (salmon skin handroll). On our way out, as I was crossing the little pond that adorns the entrance to the restaurant, I noticed how all the Koi fish would swim close to me and look at me. They were probably hungry and curious. Then I went on. I was already outside the threshold, and René was walking a few paces behind me. I looked back into the restaurant to see that René had stopped midways while crossing the pond and was also looking down at the fish, even as I had done, and the fish were all slowly swimming closer to him, gathering around in front of him. And all of the fish were staring up at René as he was staring down at them. This went on for a few seconds and then REné looked up at me with his sparkly squinty eyes and his delightful shy and pouty smile. And, giggling, he asked me “uh, why are they all staring at me?”, to which I replied “ they want to know how you can manage to live out there, outside the water”. This painting is currently on view as part of the group exhibition ‘Futurismo’ at @mendeswooddm in Sao Paulo #manuelsolano #painting #mexicancontemporaryart #japaneserestaurant #koi #fishpond #blindpainter #creadoramexicana #pinturamexicanacontemporanea