BECAUSE OF LOVE - press article
Article by Maria Vittoria Berti for Exibart, published 20th December 2011:
FRANKO B - BECAUSE OF LOVE: L’ARTE SI FA CON IL FOUND RAISING
BECAUSE OF LOVE is a new multi-discplinary performance piece currently under development by Franko B. To find out more and support the project, please visit indiegogo.com/because-of-love.
FRANKO B - BECAUSE OF LOVE: L’ARTE SI FA CON IL FOUND RAISING
BECAUSE OF LOVE is a new multi-discplinary performance piece currently under development by Franko B. To find out more and support the project, please visit indiegogo.com/because-of-love.
GLOBE GALLERY AUCTION
Friday 2nd December 2011, auction starts at 6.30pm
Auction hosted by John Anderson with special guest Chris Donald
Globe's live auction aims to raise funds to support the development of our new contemporary arts venue in Newcastle.
With more than 60 artworks generously donated by artists including Douglas Gordon, Mike Nelson, Mark Fairnington, Jane & Louise Wilson, Franko B, Stefan Gec, Simon Leahy-Clark, Fiona Banner, John Kippin, Fiona Crisp and many others, and with prices for everyone, this is a not-to-be-missed evening.
All proceeds from the sale of the artworks will go towards continuing the development of our innovative programme of exhibitions, projects, artist support, community and school workshops, and our range of award winning volunteering opportunities.
You can now leave silent bids if you are unable to come to the live auction. The auction items can be viewed at the gallery on Wednesday 30th November and Thursday 1st December from 11.30am to 5pm
IN YOUR FACE
IN YOUR FACE - Group exhibition at Show Studio, 1-9 Bruton Place, London W1J 6LT.
Private view 1st December, 6-8pm. Exhibition continues until 4th February. Tues-Sat, 11am - 6pm.
Marina Abramovic, Franko B, Debra Baxter, Luis Bunuel, Nancy Burson, Chris Crites, Stephen Doherty, Leo Gabin, Lucy & Bart, Gao Brothers, Shadarfarin Ghadirian, Douglas Gordon, Fraser Hamilton, IngridMwangiRobertHutter, Patrick Ian Hartley, Stephen Jones, Nick Knight, Little and Whitehead, Nasir Mazhar, Amir Mobed, Polly Morgan, Harold Offeh, kennardphillips, Ed Templeton, Rudolf Schwartzkogler, Santigo Serra, Tim Shaw, Anj Smith, Hank Willis Thomas, Void Of Course
www.showstudio.com
[click to view readable image]
I'M THINKING OF YOU - reminder
www.grutli.ch
THE SATURDAY ARTS CLUB
Includes an interview with Richard Smith from Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster, who talks about Franko B's recent solo exhibition, SOMEONE TO LOVE.
Listen here (Richard Smith interview starts approximately half way through).
FRANKO B - press article
Franko B interviewed by Luca Pakarov, for Rolling Stone Italia, published 7th November 2011
read it here
read it here
PERFORMANCE NIGHT AT THE RCA
3 NOVEMBER 2011
Works selected by contemporary artists Nigel Rolfe, Franko B, Leah Capaldi and Jack Tan will be exhibited in a night of Performance Art at the Royal College of Art.
Following a week-long programme of intensive coaching and development, proposed work by students will be selected for an evening of performance at the Battersea campus of the Royal College of Art. As part of the college’s interdisciplinary initiative (AcrossRCA) students from design, animation, visual communication and fine art will be taken through a process of proposal, development, refinement and selection for Performance Night at the RCA.
The event makes apparent how other disciplines, as diverse as industrial design engineering or textiles, can enter, enrich and inform performance art. Questions are raised about how performance consists as a field of enquiry, its development, and the permeability of its boundaries.
The Performance Night exhibition takes place on 3 November 2011, 6.30pm to 10pm.
Free Admission
Royal College of Art, 15-25 Howie Street, Battersea, London SW11 4AS
Public information: www.rca.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 590 4444
PERFORMANCE NIGHT AT THE RCA
3 NOVEMBER 2011
Works selected by contemporary artists Nigel Rolfe, Franko B, Leah Capaldi and Jack Tan
will exhibited in a night of Performance Art at the Royal College of Art.
Following a week-long programme of intensive coaching and development, proposed work by students will be selected for an evening of performance at the Battersea campus of the Royal College of Art. As part of the college’s interdisciplinary initiative, students from design, curating, animation, visual communication and fine art will be taken through a process of proposal, development, refinement and selection for Performance Night at the RCA.
The event makes apparent how other disciplines, as diverse as industrial design engineering or textiles, can enter, enrich and inform performance art. How performance consists as a field of enquiry, its development, and the permeability of its boundaries.
The Peformance Night exhibition takes place on 3 November 2011, 6.30pm to 10pm.
Free Admission
Royal College of Art, 15-25 Howie Street, Battersea, London SW11 4AS
Public information: www.rca.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 590 4444
Works selected by contemporary artists Nigel Rolfe, Franko B, Leah Capaldi and Jack Tan
will exhibited in a night of Performance Art at the Royal College of Art.
Following a week-long programme of intensive coaching and development, proposed work by students will be selected for an evening of performance at the Battersea campus of the Royal College of Art. As part of the college’s interdisciplinary initiative, students from design, curating, animation, visual communication and fine art will be taken through a process of proposal, development, refinement and selection for Performance Night at the RCA.
The event makes apparent how other disciplines, as diverse as industrial design engineering or textiles, can enter, enrich and inform performance art. How performance consists as a field of enquiry, its development, and the permeability of its boundaries.
The Peformance Night exhibition takes place on 3 November 2011, 6.30pm to 10pm.
Free Admission
Royal College of Art, 15-25 Howie Street, Battersea, London SW11 4AS
Public information: www.rca.ac.uk
Tel: 0207 590 4444
WEBSITE UPDATED
http://www.franko-b.com has been updated (October 2011). New content added to gallery, text and events pages.
SOMEONE TO LOVE - reminder
Franko B's solo show, SOMEONE TO LOVE opens at Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster on 20th October, with an artist's talk chaired by Dr Emile Devereaux on Friday 21st at 2pm. 
I'M THINKING OF YOU
Franko B will perform I'M THINKING OF YOU on 25th November 2011 at the Who's Afraid of Performance Art festival at GRÜ, Geneva.
Information and tickets here.
Bâtiment d'Art Contemporain- rue des Bains 8, 1205 Genève
Théâtre du Grütli
tél: +41 (0) 22 328 98 68
![[franko.jpg]](http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_UQpX44JMLYM/ShFWDrt3XGI/AAAAAAAAARc/c0PXnepY3DY/s400/franko.jpg)
NEON + VINYL
Londonewcastle invites you to
Neon + Vinyl
presented by Plus Art Projects at Londonewcastle Project Space
Time Out First Thursdays Late evening: Thursday 6th October, 6pm
Frieze week party: Friday 14th October, 6pm
exhibition continues until 20th October 2011
Plus Art Projects’ alternative Frieze show ‘Neon + Vinyl’ is exhibiting new art works in neon and vinyl by Tracey Emin, Sarah Lucas, Gavin Turk, Franko B, Regina Silveira, Amanda Eliasch, Melville Mitchell, Peter Lamb and Paul Hosking, Alex Baker, Phill Wilson-Perkin, Seamus Farrell, Warren McLachlan, Tim Bromage, Mark Croxford, Morag Myerscough, Luke Morgan, Kim Fielding, Dominic Allan, John Tiney, Jason Davidge, Stik, Marcus Mitchell, Jason Minsky, Giorgio Sadotti, Nick Kennedy, Will Strong, John Close, Will Marshall, The DnA Factory, Peter Ainsworth, Gemma Land, Damien Good, Dingbot McLatchley, David Wood, Craig Robertson, Sarah Blood, Laura Graham, Jonathan Wright, Ken Graham, Jim Woodall, Pete Jones and Amelia Newton Whitelaw amongst others.
The show is unique in drawing together a wide range of creative talent to work with media traditionally associated with street level advertising and industrial processes. We are challenging artists to subvert these media and find new ways to communicate.
Curated and produced by neonist Kerry Ryan, artist Declan McMullan and Jessica Temple, ‘Neon + Vinyl’ is the fourth Frieze week show from Plus Art Projects.
Opening Times: Thursday 6th - Thursday 20th October 2011. Open every day from 10am -6pm. Late viewing by appointment
LONDONEWCASTLE PROJECT SPACE
The Londonewcastle Project Space is a gallery and exhibition space in Shoreditch created by property brand Londonewcastle as a platform for creatives and artists to display their work and further their practice. The gallery is donated to users who might not otherwise have the opportunity to show their work and forms part of the ongoing local cultural discourse.
www.londonewcastle.co.uk
28 Redchurch Street
London E2 7DP
MORE INFORMATION
info@plusartprojects.com
www.londonewcastle.co.uk/#/events/list
HE WHO LOVES - HE IS ONE OF US
Gabriel Toso
He Who Loves – He Is One of Us
London, September 2011
[more texts about Franko B can be found at www.franko-b.com/text.htm]
I still remember the first time I saw Franko B. It was in a book illustrated with photos taken during one of his live performances. Franko was naked, covered with bodily fluids. Jaded, ready to drop. Towering next to him like an amused crane was a girl dressed as a nurse; or as a patient. The caption that accompanied the image was taken from Eroticism by the once described “metaphysician of evil”, Georges Bataille “Man must be aware of the things which repel him most violently – those things….are part of our nature”. I was 19 years old and confused. But inquisitive too….
That first visual encounter with the artist is still vivid in my mind, but the reason for it took a while to decipher. It was not the disturbing elements of the image, no, but rather the tender gaze, the amorous gestures and the fragile body. A mass of gentle emotions wrapping my mind, like a caress.
And now, fifteen year later, I know the man behind that photo and that gentleness is still present and alive. Indeed, having peeped inside the world of Franko B, I am wondering how can it be described as ‘disturbing’ - unless we find disturbing our own feelings. Franko’s work is a reflection of our emotional states. And yet, we find it initially difficult to relate to it. It employs the same alphabet but the language appears different. But is it really? Art critics, art journalists and the public at large have the tendency to think of artists as something different. Messianic and godlike or evil and immoral. Or just plain different. They are different than us, right? And then it hit me. Franko B, the visual artist and performer, is not a special entity or a frightening creature of dark fairy tales. Franko B is a man. He is made of flesh and bones, and has a heart and a soul. He sleeps and breathes, he eats and drinks, he walks and speaks, he pisses and shits, he cries and laughs, he fucks, he loves. Franko B is like me, like us. Franko B is one of us.
I remember Franko recently taking part in a conversation with a renowned art historian/book writer, a kind of vicious ferret. The guy was more interested in his own work (and Ego) than Franko’s. At the end he reluctantly asked: “Your canvases, your sculptures, your performances…..your work and life…..why? What is all about?” Silence. And then Franko, with a serious smile, “It is all about relationships”. That hit me again. His words resonated and expanded embracing and wrapping together with a gentle cuddle all of us in the audience. Travelling further, to the rest of the world. Relationships….
Even more recently I was conversing with Franko over dinner. The subject focused on Existentialism. The Big Questions. The condition of human existence and the meaning or purpose of life. At some point Franko B with clarity and conviction announced “ Because of love, that’s why we are here”. Silence. And then it hit me again. Franko B, the man and the artist, loves. All his work is about love. No the kind of spiritual love lost in remote deserts or the physical sensual love consumed in cities but Love as the pure generative universal energy that creates, preserves and destroys everything. It’s the love from one human being to another. And to the rest of the World. It’s the love that encompasses everything. As the arrival of Spring awakes in us the instinctive realisation of the passing of time and the returning swallow announces its love for the season and the land, so Franko’s work is a constant reminder of the eternal truth of Love. And Franko B loves. The words of Thomas à Kempis come to mind “Love flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and nothing can hold it back….
Gabriel Toso
He Who Loves – He Is One of Us
London, September 2011
[more texts about Franko B can be found at www.franko-b.com/text.htm]
I still remember the first time I saw Franko B. It was in a book illustrated with photos taken during one of his live performances. Franko was naked, covered with bodily fluids. Jaded, ready to drop. Towering next to him like an amused crane was a girl dressed as a nurse; or as a patient. The caption that accompanied the image was taken from Eroticism by the once described “metaphysician of evil”, Georges Bataille “Man must be aware of the things which repel him most violently – those things….are part of our nature”. I was 19 years old and confused. But inquisitive too….
That first visual encounter with the artist is still vivid in my mind, but the reason for it took a while to decipher. It was not the disturbing elements of the image, no, but rather the tender gaze, the amorous gestures and the fragile body. A mass of gentle emotions wrapping my mind, like a caress.
And now, fifteen year later, I know the man behind that photo and that gentleness is still present and alive. Indeed, having peeped inside the world of Franko B, I am wondering how can it be described as ‘disturbing’ - unless we find disturbing our own feelings. Franko’s work is a reflection of our emotional states. And yet, we find it initially difficult to relate to it. It employs the same alphabet but the language appears different. But is it really? Art critics, art journalists and the public at large have the tendency to think of artists as something different. Messianic and godlike or evil and immoral. Or just plain different. They are different than us, right? And then it hit me. Franko B, the visual artist and performer, is not a special entity or a frightening creature of dark fairy tales. Franko B is a man. He is made of flesh and bones, and has a heart and a soul. He sleeps and breathes, he eats and drinks, he walks and speaks, he pisses and shits, he cries and laughs, he fucks, he loves. Franko B is like me, like us. Franko B is one of us.
I remember Franko recently taking part in a conversation with a renowned art historian/book writer, a kind of vicious ferret. The guy was more interested in his own work (and Ego) than Franko’s. At the end he reluctantly asked: “Your canvases, your sculptures, your performances…..your work and life…..why? What is all about?” Silence. And then Franko, with a serious smile, “It is all about relationships”. That hit me again. His words resonated and expanded embracing and wrapping together with a gentle cuddle all of us in the audience. Travelling further, to the rest of the world. Relationships….
Even more recently I was conversing with Franko over dinner. The subject focused on Existentialism. The Big Questions. The condition of human existence and the meaning or purpose of life. At some point Franko B with clarity and conviction announced “ Because of love, that’s why we are here”. Silence. And then it hit me again. Franko B, the man and the artist, loves. All his work is about love. No the kind of spiritual love lost in remote deserts or the physical sensual love consumed in cities but Love as the pure generative universal energy that creates, preserves and destroys everything. It’s the love from one human being to another. And to the rest of the World. It’s the love that encompasses everything. As the arrival of Spring awakes in us the instinctive realisation of the passing of time and the returning swallow announces its love for the season and the land, so Franko’s work is a constant reminder of the eternal truth of Love. And Franko B loves. The words of Thomas à Kempis come to mind “Love flies, runs, and rejoices; it is free and nothing can hold it back….
Gabriel Toso
SOMEONE TO LOVE
Franko B - SOMEONE TO LOVE - solo show at Peter Scott Gallery, University of Lancaster.
21st October - 12th November 2011
I'M THINKING OF YOU - review
Review of I'M THINKING OF YOU - performance at Montpellier Danse festival, 27th June 2011
I'M THINKING OF YOU - reminder
Franko B will perform I'M THINKING OF YOU at Montpellier Danse festival on 27th June.
More information and tickets here.
More information and tickets here.
FRANKO B - feature
Cover of LOBODILATTICE, 6th June 2011
Franko B. even the loser has a good time at the party
Oh, My Loverboy. Protect Me. I Miss You. Franko B. ha sempre usato il cortocircuito semantico come canale di espressione privilegiato. Il suo corpo eccessivo, tatuato, crocicchio sincronico fra le freak-parade del Diciannovesimo Secolo, i tavoli delle notomie, le segrete degli interrogatori rinascimentali, le tribù delle subculture di fine millennio, vira dal bianco al nero per ansia di purezza. Franko B. si apre le vene e crea percorsi di sangue, per mostrare il dolore all’indifferenza degli spettatori. E titola le sue cruente alchimie di umori con dichiarazioni di desiderio struggente. La sua eleganza e pulizia formale ha metabolizzato una grande varietà di media, dalla performance, all’installazione, alla creazione di oggetti, ambienti, vestiti. Il neon rosso, simbolo a metà strada fra il camp della sessualità mercenaria, il condotto venoso sublimato e l’idea di qualcosa di morbido e luminoso, si piega a comporre messaggi d’amore e solitudine. My Heart Is Yours, Do You Want It? I Feel Lonely, Please Call Me. Even the Loser Has a Good Time At The Party. La croce rossa raffigura l’eccedenza di significati propria dei simboli. E quindi la cura del dolore, la sollecitudine, l’universo queer delle uniformi di latex, l’universalità del dolore, la connessione con la simbologia religiosa del martirio e della sua santità. [translate]
FRANKO B GUITAR - Jovanotti video
http://youtu.be/RruDYGIx1Ak
- Lorenzo Jovanotti video featuring a special edition guitar designed by Franko B, which was made by the students of professor Gildo Pannochia at the Institute of Arts, Macerata and sponsored by Eko, Italia.
- Lorenzo Jovanotti video featuring a special edition guitar designed by Franko B, which was made by the students of professor Gildo Pannochia at the Institute of Arts, Macerata and sponsored by Eko, Italia.
HEART AND SOUL
HEART AND SOUL is a new special edition guitar designed by Franko B, made by the students of professor Gildo Pannochia at the Institute of Arts, Macerata and sponsored by Eko, Italia.
It was kindly played by Lorenzo (Jovanotti) during his recent tour of Italy.
Thanks to The Institute of Arts, Macerata, Gildo Pannochia, Giovanni Matarazzo and Eko.
Special thanks to Saturnino and Lorenzo.
I STILL LOVE - artist's talk - Thursday 2nd June
Franko B in conversation with art critic and historian, Edward Lucie Smith.
6.30pm, Thursday 2nd June. The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
Discussion will revolve around the theories and concerns which inform Franko B's work and his current exhibition at The Nunnery, 'I Still Love'. This will be followed by a screening of a documentary accompanying his recent solo exhibition in Milan.
I STILL LOVE is Franko B’s first solo exhibition in London for seven years and features a new series of embroidered canvases, never before shown in the UK. The canvases, which depict animals, flowers, portraits and the male body, as well as images of torture and war, return to the central themes of Franko B’s work – death, eroticism, intimacy, pain and compassion. These recurrent motifs find a delicate new means of expression through the exclusive use of red and white cotton on unprimed canvas.
Franko B was born in Milan in 1960 and has lived in London since 1979. He graduated from Chelsea College and has been producing work across a diverse range of media since the early 1990s. Since 2009, he has been Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata, Italy. Franko B is the current Artist in Residence with Bow Arts Trust.
Edward Lucie-Smith is an internationally known art critic and historian, who is also a poet, anthologist and a practising photographer. He has published more than a hundred books in all, more than sixty of them about art. Lucie-Smith’s photographs have been exhibited internationally and in Britain he was for many years a well-known broadcaster and journalist. He currently writes regularly for Art Review.
Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Following the talk and screening, the exhibition will remain open until 9pm.
To reserve a place, please RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com.
Gallery open Friday – Sunday, 1-5pm | Exhibition continues 6th May – 5th June 2011
Entry is free
6.30pm, Thursday 2nd June. The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
Discussion will revolve around the theories and concerns which inform Franko B's work and his current exhibition at The Nunnery, 'I Still Love'. This will be followed by a screening of a documentary accompanying his recent solo exhibition in Milan.
I STILL LOVE is Franko B’s first solo exhibition in London for seven years and features a new series of embroidered canvases, never before shown in the UK. The canvases, which depict animals, flowers, portraits and the male body, as well as images of torture and war, return to the central themes of Franko B’s work – death, eroticism, intimacy, pain and compassion. These recurrent motifs find a delicate new means of expression through the exclusive use of red and white cotton on unprimed canvas.
Franko B was born in Milan in 1960 and has lived in London since 1979. He graduated from Chelsea College and has been producing work across a diverse range of media since the early 1990s. Since 2009, he has been Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata, Italy. Franko B is the current Artist in Residence with Bow Arts Trust.
Edward Lucie-Smith is an internationally known art critic and historian, who is also a poet, anthologist and a practising photographer. He has published more than a hundred books in all, more than sixty of them about art. Lucie-Smith’s photographs have been exhibited internationally and in Britain he was for many years a well-known broadcaster and journalist. He currently writes regularly for Art Review.
Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start.
Following the talk and screening, the exhibition will remain open until 9pm.
To reserve a place, please RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com.
Gallery open Friday – Sunday, 1-5pm | Exhibition continues 6th May – 5th June 2011
Entry is free
AT NIGHT WE CRY
Our first ever performance will be at Art Day 2, at Terminal, Macerata, Italy - 3rd July 2011, 9pm.
The idea of this collective is to invite collaboration with other artists, allowing the group to mutate and progress organically over time. We are arty but also political.
Blog to come soon.
FRANKO B SUMMER SALON
Franko B Summer Salon
Saturday 25 June, 3-7pm. SE1 Project Space, 46 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SF
Part of Bow Arts Open 2011.
- All welcome -
Franko B has been running his ART POLITICS SEX Salons at Bow Arts Trust over the past two years, and at other venues across Europe since 2003. The event attracts a regular group of artists and art lovers who want to share their views and their creativity with others. (Read more about ARTS POLITICS SEX here.)
Saturday 25 June, 3-7pm. SE1 Project Space, 46 Willow Walk, London SE1 5SF
Part of Bow Arts Open 2011.
- All welcome -
Franko B has been running his ART POLITICS SEX Salons at Bow Arts Trust over the past two years, and at other venues across Europe since 2003. The event attracts a regular group of artists and art lovers who want to share their views and their creativity with others. (Read more about ARTS POLITICS SEX here.)
I STILL LOVE - Artist's Talk - photos
Some photos from the artist's talk on Sunday 8th May 2011 at Franko B's exhibition, I STILL LOVE at The Nunnery Gallery, London.
Thanks to everyone who came.
I STILL LOVE - review
Review by Steph Hurst for Spoonfed:
I Still Love is Franko B’s first solo exhibition in London for seven years. His latest body of work at The Nunnery Gallery is a series of larger-than-life images stitched onto canvas with yarn. The Nunnery (actually a former nunnery, with the architectural interior to prove it) lives down a long alleyway of artist studios, lit by a constellation of dangling fluorescent lights. This bright, high-ceilinged space provides a good home for the, ahem, well-hung embroidered canvases.
The front gallery is quiet and blanched with a muted palette of bone-coloured cotton on unprimed canvas. The aesthetic is minimal and features portraits of torture alongside a bird and a blank canvas. The grouping of these images becomes an overture for the rest of the show.
The nave gallery introduces playful, erotic imagery. Twinkies kissing. A robin perched on a branch. A double hanging (as seen in the front gallery) is re-appropriated in bright red Egyptian cotton, accentuating the colour contrast. There is language in the sharp elbows of the bold contour lines—in the curves of two penises kissing. They almost seem to be moving.
The images are both appropriated and personal. “I don’t want to work with images that repulse me,” Franko says, “but with images that I can’t forget – that are ingrained in my memory.” I have seen some of this work in his studio – subjects projected onto canvas with an old-school overhead projector. He condenses the original images to produce flat, stylised renderings. Grouped with the occasional flower or bird, war and brutality comprise the majority of the images. Arranged together in one place, they seem to engage in conversation.
The back gallery is the noisiest – floor to ceiling with 22 square canvases including several military portraits, a triptych of Tom (and the rambling scar on his abdomen), a couple of hangings (the thick red noose and the negative space), and my personal favourite, the spectacular sprawling of barbed wire.
In a recent documentary of I Still Love at PAC Milan, Franko says, “I’m an artist who works with single images. When I choose which image to work with, I choose one that has touched me or that keeps my attention. This might be two cute boys kissing and I feel some emotion towards it, or a child who has just escaped and survived an attack on his school, which has killed most of the other children. To me, it has the same effect.” The results are eye-catching (and highly collectible).
Franko’s distinctive branding – where classical meets queer – appears in the exclusive use of red and white. He’s been tagged a New Romantic, and I Still Love doesn’t deviate, but evolves the artist’s multidisciplinary approach… in other words, it works.
Franko B – I Still Love is at the Nunnery until 5th June 2011.
I Still Love is Franko B’s first solo exhibition in London for seven years. His latest body of work at The Nunnery Gallery is a series of larger-than-life images stitched onto canvas with yarn. The Nunnery (actually a former nunnery, with the architectural interior to prove it) lives down a long alleyway of artist studios, lit by a constellation of dangling fluorescent lights. This bright, high-ceilinged space provides a good home for the, ahem, well-hung embroidered canvases.
The front gallery is quiet and blanched with a muted palette of bone-coloured cotton on unprimed canvas. The aesthetic is minimal and features portraits of torture alongside a bird and a blank canvas. The grouping of these images becomes an overture for the rest of the show.
The nave gallery introduces playful, erotic imagery. Twinkies kissing. A robin perched on a branch. A double hanging (as seen in the front gallery) is re-appropriated in bright red Egyptian cotton, accentuating the colour contrast. There is language in the sharp elbows of the bold contour lines—in the curves of two penises kissing. They almost seem to be moving.
The images are both appropriated and personal. “I don’t want to work with images that repulse me,” Franko says, “but with images that I can’t forget – that are ingrained in my memory.” I have seen some of this work in his studio – subjects projected onto canvas with an old-school overhead projector. He condenses the original images to produce flat, stylised renderings. Grouped with the occasional flower or bird, war and brutality comprise the majority of the images. Arranged together in one place, they seem to engage in conversation.
The back gallery is the noisiest – floor to ceiling with 22 square canvases including several military portraits, a triptych of Tom (and the rambling scar on his abdomen), a couple of hangings (the thick red noose and the negative space), and my personal favourite, the spectacular sprawling of barbed wire.
In a recent documentary of I Still Love at PAC Milan, Franko says, “I’m an artist who works with single images. When I choose which image to work with, I choose one that has touched me or that keeps my attention. This might be two cute boys kissing and I feel some emotion towards it, or a child who has just escaped and survived an attack on his school, which has killed most of the other children. To me, it has the same effect.” The results are eye-catching (and highly collectible).
Franko’s distinctive branding – where classical meets queer – appears in the exclusive use of red and white. He’s been tagged a New Romantic, and I Still Love doesn’t deviate, but evolves the artist’s multidisciplinary approach… in other words, it works.
Franko B – I Still Love is at the Nunnery until 5th June 2011.
I STILL LOVE - Artist's Talk + screening
Thursday 2nd June
Franko B will discuss the theories and concerns which inform his work and the diverse range of approaches he takes to producing art. There will also be a screening of a documentary accompanying his recent solo exhibition in Milan. Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Following the talk, the exhibition will stay open until 9pm.
To reserve a place, please RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com.
Franko B - I STILL LOVE - exhibition open 6th May - 5th June 2011, Friday-Sunday.
The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
Franko B will discuss the theories and concerns which inform his work and the diverse range of approaches he takes to producing art. There will also be a screening of a documentary accompanying his recent solo exhibition in Milan. Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Following the talk, the exhibition will stay open until 9pm.
To reserve a place, please RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com.
Franko B - I STILL LOVE - exhibition open 6th May - 5th June 2011, Friday-Sunday.
The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
I STILL LOVE - photos
I STILL LOVE - 6th May - 5th June 2011
The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
I STILL LOVE - Private View - photos
Thanks to everyone who came.
The exhibition, I STILL LOVE is open now until 5th June 2011 - Friday-Sunday, 1-5pm.
Artist's talk 8th May, 2pm
The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
The exhibition, I STILL LOVE is open now until 5th June 2011 - Friday-Sunday, 1-5pm.
Artist's talk 8th May, 2pm
The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
FRATERNISE - THE SALON - exhibition and events
Fraternise - The Salon - Fundraising group exhibition at Beaconsfield, London. Until 29 May 2011, Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-5pm. Across all Galleries.
Fraternise – the Salon offers a collectible range of contemporary art works. Contributing artists include those at the top of the commercial game and others who are, as yet, unknown in the auction room.
With prices ranging from £5 – £20,000 this exhibition offers a special opportunity to exercise your judgment and perhaps risk your aesthetic arm, by starting or expanding a collection.
Events:
Monday 16 May 2011 at 7pm - Fraternise – for Collectors
Nina Miall, Director Haunch of Venison
Wednesday 18 May at 11am - Fraternise – the Coffee View
Saturday 21 May at 2pm - Fraternise – the Curators Talk
Friday 27 May from 6.30pm till late - LAST Fridays: Fraternise – the finissage
Last-chance, evening viewing of Fraternise – the Salon with late bar and Fraternising artist-DJs.
Full details of all events here.
PENNY ARCADE
Franko is very excited to have met with the living legend, Penny Arcade.
Please check her website, www.pennyarcade.tv
I STILL LOVE - exhibition and events
I STILL LOVE - an exhibition of recent visual art work by Franko B at The Nunnery Gallery, 181 Bow Road, London E3 2SJ
Exhibition open 6th May - 5th June 2011, Friday - Sunday, 1:00 - 5:00 pm.
DIARY OF EVENTS:
5th May: PRIVATE VIEW - 6:30 - 9:30 pm
8th May: Artists talk, 2:00 - 3:30 pm - Franko B will be in conversation with writer and curator, Michele Robecchi. Discussion will focus on the theories and concerns that inform Franko's work and the diverse range of approaches he takes to producing art. To reserve a place, RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com
2nd June: First Thursday event - Franko B will discuss the theories and concerns which inform his work and the diverse range of approaches he takes to producing art. There will also be a screening of a documentary accompanying his recent solo exhibition in Milan. Doors will open at 6.30pm for a 7pm start. Following the talk, the exhibition will stay open until 9pm.
To reserve a place, please RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com.
To reserve a place, please RSVP to nunnery@bowarts.com.
I STILL LOVE is Franko B’s first solo exhibition in London for seven years and features a new series of embroidered canvases, never before shown in the UK.
The canvases, which depict animals, flowers, portraits and the male body, as well as images of torture and war, return to the central themes of Franko B’s work – death, eroticism, intimacy, pain and compassion. These recurrent motifs find a delicate new means of expression through the exclusive use of red cotton on unprimed canvas.
A bold, eclectic artist, and for many years a leading figure on the international performance art scene, Franko B continues to celebrate and express the beauty of existence in his work, focusing on powerful and emotive imagery. I Still Love follows on from the artist’s recent solo exhibition at PAC (Pavilion of Contemporary Art) in Milan.
A bold, eclectic artist, and for many years a leading figure on the international performance art scene, Franko B continues to celebrate and express the beauty of existence in his work, focusing on powerful and emotive imagery. I Still Love follows on from the artist’s recent solo exhibition at PAC (Pavilion of Contemporary Art) in Milan.
GLOBE GALLERY - exclusive FB artworks
A selection of limited edition and original artworks by Franko B are available to buy now, exclusive to Globe Gallery.
SPILL TAROT EXHIBITION
SPILL Tarot Exhibition
18 - 23 April 2011 / 13:00
Barbican Public Spaces
18 - 23 April 2011 / 13:00
Barbican Public Spaces
In 2009, Pacitti Company commissioned a collaboration between photographer Manuel Vason, designer Justin Weyers and 22 contemporary maverick artists from around the globe to each restage a tarot card. The result is a limited edition SPILL Tarot Pack.
The images feature Ron Athey, Marisa Carnesky, Franko B, Raimund Hoghe, Robert Pacitti, Lois Keidan, Lee Adams, Carla Esperanza Tommasini, Sheila Ghelani, Oreet Ashery, Rajni Shah, Noblesse Oblige, Vaginal Davis, Grace Ellen Barkey, Harminder Judge, Kira O'Reilly, Helena Hunter, Empress Stah, Dominic Johnson, Julia Bardsley, Manuel Vason and Yann Marussich.
This exhibition is a large format photographic display of the full deck of cards: 22 Major Arcana images, and the uncut printers’ sheets of the Minor Arcana.
The images feature Ron Athey, Marisa Carnesky, Franko B, Raimund Hoghe, Robert Pacitti, Lois Keidan, Lee Adams, Carla Esperanza Tommasini, Sheila Ghelani, Oreet Ashery, Rajni Shah, Noblesse Oblige, Vaginal Davis, Grace Ellen Barkey, Harminder Judge, Kira O'Reilly, Helena Hunter, Empress Stah, Dominic Johnson, Julia Bardsley, Manuel Vason and Yann Marussich.
This exhibition is a large format photographic display of the full deck of cards: 22 Major Arcana images, and the uncut printers’ sheets of the Minor Arcana.
ART NEWS - TV show
Watch the full programme online here. (30 minutes duration. An extended interview with Franko B is intercut with reports on other arts stories.)
Watch the 'Making Of' video here.
I'M THINKING OF YOU
Franko B will perform I'M THINKING OF YOU at Montpellier Danse festival, 27th June 2011.
Click here for tickets and further details.
Click here for tickets and further details.
Performance at Beaconsfield - photos
Franko B performance at Fraternise - The Salon - Group show at Beaconsfield, London.
1st April 2011
Exhibition open until 29th May.
Photos by Thomas Qualmann.
I STILL LOVE - artist's talk
8th May 2011, 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Franko B will be in conversation with writer and curator, Michele Robecchi. Discussion will focus on the theories and concerns that inform Franko's work and the diverse range of approaches he takes to producing art.
Franko B will be in conversation with writer and curator, Michele Robecchi. Discussion will focus on the theories and concerns that inform Franko's work and the diverse range of approaches he takes to producing art.
The talk will take place at The Nunnery Gallery, London, as part of Franko B's solo exhibition, I STILL LOVE.
Free entry.
GLOBE GALLERY, Newcastle
Banking on Your Support - Globe Gallery, Newcastle
15/04/2011 - 31/12/2011
The event (15th April) includes a live performance from world famous artist FRANKO B and installations by Chris Dreier & Frank Lohmeyer (Berlin), Ben Jeans Houghton (Newcastle), and Paul Grimmer (Newcastle).
There will also be refreshments and a DJ.
To confirm your attendence, please download your free ticket.
Globe would like to invite you to contribute to Globe's major new arts venue in the ex Co-operative Bank in Blandford Square, Newcastle city centre.
This event offers you the opportunity to see the old Co-op Bank in a raw state with access to the vaults, safes and counters but in place of bullion, you will see a range of artwork produced by regional, national and international artists who are the backbone of the organisation, providing thousands of people with great experiences for more than 16 years.
more information here.
DRAWING 2011
DRAWING 2011 BIENNIAL FUNDRAISERExhibition dates: 7 April to 18 May
Auction night: 18th May 2011
Top name artists make new work for auction
The Drawing Room Biennial Fundraiser has become one of London’s art world key biennial events. Since 2003 over 600 established and emerging artists, from the UK and abroad, have generously made a unique work on paper in support of the non-profit gallery’s programme.
For this event a huge array of artists comes together to demonstrate the crucial role that drawing plays in contemporary art and to endorse the Drawing Room as a platform for its presentation and exploration. This exhibition will not only document the extraordinary richness of drawing today but will also mark the Drawing Room’s 10th Anniversary
“I see the drawing room auction as a kind of annual commission, and it's nice to go back to an existing series of works (I mean the nudes). This year a whole new set of pieces came out of resuming work on the nudes”. John Stezaker, 2011
Artists including Franko B, Fiona Banner, Cornelia Parker Angela de la Cruz, Bob & Roberta Smith, Richard Long, Hamish Fulton, Goshka Macuga, Paula Rego, George Shaw, John Stezaker, Erik Van Lieshout have given among many other established and emerging artists in the UK and abroad.
'It was here that I first saw Anna Barham's drawing and was so intrigued, I commissioned her to make a work. The fundraiser is great way to gain exposure to young artists and forge relationships with them.' Elisabetta Buonaiuto, collector
The drawings are to be exhibited for four weeks, culminating in an exciting silent auction event on Wednesday 18th May. The Biennial Fundraisers offer the perfect opportunity to purchase unique works on paper by major and upcoming artists.
FRATERNISE
Fraternise - the SalonGroup exhibition at Beaconsfield, London.
2 April – 29 May 2011
Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-5pm
Exhibition Preview: Friday 1 April, from 6pm
Upper Gallery 1, Canteen Gallery 2 & Arch Gallery 3
2 April – 29 May 2011
Tuesday – Sunday, 11am-5pm
Exhibition Preview: Friday 1 April, from 6pm
Upper Gallery 1, Canteen Gallery 2 & Arch Gallery 3
Fraternise – the Salon gathers a cohort of artists in a curated, fundraising exhibition, to support the future existence of Beaconsfield.
Exhibiting artists include…
Franko B, David Birkin, Matthew Burrows, Tamsyn Challenger, Jules Clarke, Ben Cockett, A. David Crawforth, Judith Dean, Mark Dean, Nicholas Deshayes, Adam Dix, Robert Ellis, Laura Emsley, Peter Fillingham, Edwina Fitzpatrick, Eloise Fornieles, Stephen Fowler, Rachel Garfield, Mary George, Mathew Gibson, Colin Glen, Lucy Gunning, Matt Hale, Damien Hirst, Rachel Howard, Marc Hulson, Sarah Jones, Sarah Lucas and Olivier Garbay, Ross McNicol, Charlotte Moth, Monika Oechsler, Tom Ormond, Boo Saville, Naomi Siderfin, Dafna Talmor, John Timberlake, Caroline Todd, Roman Vasseur, Joseph Walsh, Amelia Whitelaw, Erika Winstone.
Exhibiting artists include…
Franko B, David Birkin, Matthew Burrows, Tamsyn Challenger, Jules Clarke, Ben Cockett, A. David Crawforth, Judith Dean, Mark Dean, Nicholas Deshayes, Adam Dix, Robert Ellis, Laura Emsley, Peter Fillingham, Edwina Fitzpatrick, Eloise Fornieles, Stephen Fowler, Rachel Garfield, Mary George, Mathew Gibson, Colin Glen, Lucy Gunning, Matt Hale, Damien Hirst, Rachel Howard, Marc Hulson, Sarah Jones, Sarah Lucas and Olivier Garbay, Ross McNicol, Charlotte Moth, Monika Oechsler, Tom Ormond, Boo Saville, Naomi Siderfin, Dafna Talmor, John Timberlake, Caroline Todd, Roman Vasseur, Joseph Walsh, Amelia Whitelaw, Erika Winstone.
The Salon brings together collaborators, patrons and protégés who have worked with Beaconsfield or who support its role in the artists’ community.
The Salon offers a rare opportunity to view a diverse range of contemporary works (many artists exhibiting together for the first time) and to start or expand a collection. Sales will benefit both participating artists and Beaconsfield.
Fraternise is a fundraising scheme established in 2005 to reflect Beaconsfield’s core values, forming a community of artists who demonstrate their support in practical terms by providing the potential to secure Beaconsfield’s future.
The Salon offers a rare opportunity to view a diverse range of contemporary works (many artists exhibiting together for the first time) and to start or expand a collection. Sales will benefit both participating artists and Beaconsfield.
Fraternise is a fundraising scheme established in 2005 to reflect Beaconsfield’s core values, forming a community of artists who demonstrate their support in practical terms by providing the potential to secure Beaconsfield’s future.
Fraternise – the Salon is co-curated by the charity’s artist-trustees, Rachel Howard, Judith Dean and artist-directors David Crawforth and Naomi Siderfin.
I STILL LOVE (monograph) - review
Gay Times, April 2011.
Review for I STILL LOVE, Franko B's latest monograph, published by 24 Ora Cultura, Milano.
Review for I STILL LOVE, Franko B's latest monograph, published by 24 Ora Cultura, Milano.
The monograph coincides with the artist's recent solo exhibition at PAC, Milan.
ARTS POLITICS SEX -reminder
The next salon will take place on Tuesday 8th March 2011, from 6:30 pm at Franko B's studio - studio 7, P 1 studios block C15,Taylor Place, Payne road, London, E3 2SP.
All welcome. you can bring some food and drink.
If you would like to come, please email frankob2000@yahoo.co.uk, or you can just turn up on the day.
Tim Etchells presents Franko B: "Action 398"
Testing Presence: The Unfolding Exchange (Keynote Conversation, Track 1), Auditorium, 04.02.2011
Transmediale festival, Berlin - February 2011.
I STILL LOVE - e-flyer and press release
E-flyer for I STILL LOVE - an exhibition of recent visual art work by Franko B, at the Nunnery Gallery, London.
6th May - 5th June 2011
Private View: 5th May, 6:30-9:30 pm - put it in your diary!
[click to view] -Please forward-
FRANKO B – I STILL LOVE
The Nunnery Gallery – 181 Bow Road, London, E3 2SJ
nunnery@bowarts.com
www.nunnerygallery.org
Private View: Thursday 5th May, 18:30-21:30
Exhibition continues: 6th May – 5th June 2011
I Still Love follows on from the artist’s recent solo exhibition at PAC (Pavilion of Contemporary Art) in Milan, and is Franko B’s first solo exhibition in London for seven years.
A bold, eclectic artist, for many years a leading figure on the international performance art scene, Franko B continues to express the beauty of existence in his work, focusing on powerful and emotive imagery.
This exhibition will include a new series of embroidered canvases, never before shown in the UK. The canvases, which depict animals, flowers, portraits, male bodies, as well as images of torture and war, play on the central themes of Franko B’s work – death, eroticism, intimacy, pain and compassion – here brought into a new light through the exclusive use of red cotton.
The fragile beauty of these images, delineated on the blank canvases with bright red thread, is reminiscent of the red blood marks on the whitened body of the artist – which were typical elements of his earlier performance works, and are deeply embedded in the public perception of his practice.
‘I’m essentially a painter who also works with performance. I come from a visual art background, and not theatre or “live art”, and this is very important to me as it informs the way my work is read. Over the last twenty years or so, I have developed ways of working to suit my need at that particular time, in terms of strategy and context, by using painting, installation, sculpture, video and sound.’
- Franko B 2010.
Franko B was born in Milan in 1960 and has lived in London since 1979. He graduated from Chelsea College of Art and Design and has been producing work across a diverse range of media since the early 1990s – ranging from video to photography, from performance to painting and sculpture. He is a visiting lecturer at many arts institutions and universities across the world, and has run several workshops and mentoring schemes for emerging artists. Since 2009, he has been Professor of Sculpture at the Academy of Fine Arts in Macerata, Italy.
Franko B has performed at Tate Modern, ICA (London), South London Gallery, Arnolfini (Bristol), Palais des Beaux Artes (Brussels), Beaconsfiled (London), Bluecoat Centre (Liverpool), in Mexico City, Berlin, Copenhagen, Madrid and Vienna, to name but a few. He has presented his visual art work at Tate Liverpool, RuArts Foundation (Moscow), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), Freud Museum (London), PAC (Milan), Contemporary Art Centre (Copenhagen) and many more. His works are in the collections of the Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum, South London Gallery and the Modern Art Museum of Tel Aviv.
For more information, please contact
nunnery@bowarts.com
020 8709 5292
I STILL LOVE - monograph
Franko B - I STILL LOVE - monographAvailable to buy now - £35.00
This monograph features the latest body of work by the artists Franko B and coincides with a major exhibition at the Pavilion of Contemporary Arts in Milan.
"The exhibition of Franko B poses questions, challenges the liberty and judgement of everyone and interrogates the observer on the sense and value of the human body"
Letizia Moritti, Mayor of Milan
Contributors: Francesca Alfano Miglietti (Fam), Michele Robecchi, Fabio Novembre. Languages: Italian/English
24 ORE Cultura, 2010, 168 pages, colour images throughout, 29.9cm x 26.6cm.
ISBN 978-0262012553
This monograph features the latest body of work by the artists Franko B and coincides with a major exhibition at the Pavilion of Contemporary Arts in Milan.
"The exhibition of Franko B poses questions, challenges the liberty and judgement of everyone and interrogates the observer on the sense and value of the human body"
Letizia Moritti, Mayor of Milan
Contributors: Francesca Alfano Miglietti (Fam), Michele Robecchi, Fabio Novembre. Languages: Italian/English
24 ORE Cultura, 2010, 168 pages, colour images throughout, 29.9cm x 26.6cm.
ISBN 978-0262012553
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