(Curated by Gabriel Rolt for The Curators Room)
11 November 2022 – 01 January 2023
🥂Opening:
Friday, 11th of November at 17hrs
Location:
The Curators Room – Amsterdam Chapel
Prinses Irenestraat, 19, Amsterdam, The netherlands
The Curators Room is pleased to present 11+11= 22 by Frans Franciscus, a solo exhibition curated by Gabriel Rolt dedicated to the oeuvre of the Dutch painter whose career has been centered on reconfiguring canonical structures present throughout the history of European painting. Working in a classical tradition of portraiture and landscape, the artist continues in this legacy through figurative works that span both flatwork and ceramic sculptures. His body of work concerns biblical references which he reimagines often with an autobiographical flair.
This show helps bring into the world and inaugurate the new temporary exhibition space, The Curators Room – Amsterdam Chapel, which dialogues with The Curators Room – La Oficina, the only permanent space of the project which opened in Barcelona last April. Franciscus’ show will be held in the new temporary space from the 11th of November to the 1st of January 2023 and serves as a loose anthology of his work in the past 20 years. It suggests a curious chronology given that the artist almost entirely stopped painting 6 years ago in favor of an unexpected shift of focus from painting to clay. Only in the last year has the artist reconciled with his painting practice.
Therefore, the show sketches an overview of his early work, his ceramic turn as well as 5 paintings concocted only in the past year; the latter being the highlight of the present exhibition. There is a fluid dialogue between the various mediums as Franciscus considers his three-dimensional work to be more fleshy translations of his flatwork. Furthermore, 11+11=22 marks the artist’s first solo show in Amsterdam in 7 years given that interest in his work has taken on an international scale in the past decade.
On a technical level, both his oil paintings and sculptures often make use of punchy and saturate color palettes. Franciscus sometimes makes smaller versions such as studies of his large format paintings which emphasise his interest in composition, flow, form and size; the latter being his way of bringing importance to the intrinsic message of the work.
Conceptually, it is important to understand the personal life of the artist who weaves in idiosyncratic narratives that touch on themes and iconography related to homosexuality and queer culture. The autobiographical is integral to the content of his works yet does not necessarily imply a sociopolitical intentionality. Alternatively, the painter suggests: “I never truly intended to put ‘gayness’ into my work. There may be a political agenda here, but I am an artist, not a politician. I put my own life stories into my work while showing my love for the Great Masters and their relationship with beauty.”
As the artist implies, he lightly subverts the subject matter that has typically dominated the classical painting tradition inserting narratives that help cultivate empathy towards various subjects, in turn, fostering a relational and affective quality in his work. Franciscus strives to channel “sheer, utter beauty” into his work which then seeks to highlight and celebrate the gamut of members present in our globalised world.
“When I painted Adam and Eve, I decided to paint one of them white and the other black and there is a message there. For this reason, the viewer has to be familiar with some biblical or mythological references which I work into the piece. But during the making of the piece —the longest part of the process— I am more concerned with the form and aesthetics and how these help the viewer realise the beauty in the figure. This is my principal goal: to make the most beautiful composition I can and then have others enjoy my efforts. Some artworks leave me breathless and I hope to have the same effect on others. Because I can not always be there to explain my work, I would at least like the work to be a feast for the eyes,” contends the painter.
Text by Gabriel Virgilio Luciani
Frans Franciscus lives and works in Amsterdam, the Netherlands.
His work has been shown in galleries, art fairs and museums in the Netherlands, Belgium, China, Curaçao, France, Germany, Czech Republic, Jordan, Russia, Spain, Swiss, South Africa, U.K. and U.S.
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Adam & Eve IV’
Oil on linen
250 x 200 cm
2012
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Back to Black I’ (bigger version)
Oil on linen
125 x 100 cm
2022
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Back to Black II’ (bigger version)
Oil on linen
125 x 100 cm
2022
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Back to Black III’ (bigger version)
Oil on linen
125 x 100 cm
2022
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Autumn’
Oil on linen
85 x 68 cm
2010
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Nuit Curacao’
Oil on linen
120 x 120 cm
2016
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Götterdämmerung’
Oil on linen
200 x 160 cm
2021
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Adagio Violente’ (bigger-version)
Oil on linen
200 x 160 cm
2022
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Demeter’
Oil on linen
150 x 130 cm
2011
FRANS FRANCISCUS
‘Tsunami’
Oil on linen
50 x 40 cm
2013