Francisco Correa Cordero, Whose Downtown Gallery Lubov Was a Haven for Misfits, Dies at 37

On August 2, Francisco Correa Cordero, the founder of the downtown New York gallery Lubov, died at a hospital in Manhattan, at the age of 37. His passing was announced by the gallery’s Instagram account the following day; it did not state the cause of death but described it as “peacefully surrounded by what he loved most – his chosen family, laughter, and so much love.”

Cordero opened Lubov in 2016 in Tribeca. Cordero did not have a mission for Lubov’s program, but it quickly became a fixture for experimentation and well-regarded exhibitions. He chose artists instinctively, often letting them experiment first in the Tribeca space, and then, after 2019, at the fourth-floor walk-up in Chinatown. About the work that he was attracted to, Cordero wrote on the Critic’s Page in Brooklyn Rail: “It’s the work that produces a sensation that I haven’t felt before; usually somewhere between pleasure, discomfort, and curiosity, but that is difficult to identify and get rid of. I want to see work that brings to the surface a part of myself that I haven’t seen before, and it is my hope that others experience something similar.” Not focusing on a stall of artists, he showed many and built a strong community around the gallery.

Lubov’s program was often more curatorial than market-driven and included installation, video, performance, and photography. Between 2015-2022, Cordero worked as Executive Coordinator at Independent Curators International (ICI), an employment which helped sustain his work with Lubov. ICI recalls that he was one of their hardest-working team members “fueled by passion and endless excitement at the prospect of making the impossible possible.” While mentioning that he always kept a red Husky toolbag under his desk, often taking it to Lubov on his lunch break to fix or install something. In the early years, he showed Tariku Shiferaw, Luba Drozd, the gallery’s namesake and his first wife, in 2023, Jon Rafman and Parker Ito in a two-person exhibition refuting the term ‘post-internet’ titled Poets, Gamblers, Fools, and more recently emerging artists Lilia Ana and Bryce Kroll, and the Whitney Biennial 2022 featured Los Angeles-based performance group My Barbarian (Malik Gaines, Jade Gordon, and Alexandro Segades). Lubov participated in several art fairs including NADA Miami, Independent New York, and Frieze New York.

Gentle recurs when describing Cordero; in the Brooklyn Rail, he wrote: “I cried the first time I saw the Lunar New Year parade. I still do and I cannot explain it, or articulate the feeling. I, too, know what it’s like to hold on to a small piece of identity when you’re so far from home.” Cordero moved to New York from Mexico in 2007 to attend undergraduate studies at School of Visual Arts (SVA). Charismatic and hard-working, Cordero would over the next twenty years build a reputation for building community in the art world. He was on the membership and programming committee of the New Art Dealers Alliance (NADA) on the board of directors of KAJE, a non-profit exhibition space in Brooklyn, and the advisory board of Carriage House, another non-profit exhibition space—both experimental. Previous to Lubov and ICI he worked at both commercial art galleries and art organizations Yancey Richardson Gallery, Martos Gallery, Aperture Foundation, Humble Arts Foundation, and the Richard Avedon Foundation.

His partner and Lubov’s gallery director, Kristen Wasik, wrote on August 3: “You created a safe haven for the misfits of the world.” The outpouring of honorific messages and anecdotes across Instagram from his colleagues in the art world has been tremendous—his kindness, thoughtful demeanor, and keen eye for art are often mentioned. Critic Jerry Saltz reposted the gallery’s announcement, including: “I liked him, I was interested in his eye.” Among the more than 820 comments left on the gallery’s announcement was L.A. based curator Paul Schimmel, who commented: “That’s a heartbreaker, a real loss.” Fellow gallerist Sophie Mörner called him a “brilliant soul.” DJ and memester PS5 thanked him for sharing knowledge and educating him “on the art game.” Artist and curator Ariel Adkins commented, “…such a thoughtful and kind individual.” Curator Sanna Almajedi, a former colleague from ICI when he first opened Lubov, shared that he was a “sweet, funny, kind, and loving visionary who really believed in the artists he showed and was incredibly passionate about art.” She continues that she was “always super impressed by him.” Eva Mayhabal Davis writes: “QEPD” (que en paz descanse—the Spanish phrase for may they rest in peace).

A date for a celebration of life will be announced.

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