Francesco Clemente Pinxit (Primary Title)
Francesco Clemente, Italian, born 1952 (Artist)
“It could be a step forward to realize that the rational picture of the world is also an imagination; it has the same reality as a myth. It is the product of the mind; it is not more substantial than the mind.” —Francesco Clemente
Clemente was part of the Transavantgarde—the Italian version of Neo-Expressionism that reintroduced myth, history, and the figure as subjects for art. Clemente’s work offers a metaphorical universe of erotically charged imagery, often concerning fundamental contradictions: wholeness and fragmentation, freedom and limitation.
Clemente made these works on handmade rag pages from a two-hundred-year-old Indian book that was considered of no particular value, a common practice in India, where the artist sometimes lives. Clemente wiped off the water-soluble text but preserved the borders, within which he painted his own “Indian” miniatures. He uses Mughal, Rajput, and early Renaissance conventions to create potent yet ambiguous scenes similar to dreams and fairy tales. For conservation reasons, only twelve of the twenty-four pages are shown; the second group will be rotated at a later date.
"Late 20th Century Works on Paper", Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, 18 Feb. - 16 May, 1993.
"Francesco Clemente: Works on Paper", Philidelphia Museum of Art (org.), 21 Oct. - 23 Dec. 1990; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford CT, 20 Jan - 17 March, 1991; San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, CA, 11 April - 2 June 1991.
Worcester Art Museum, Worcester, Mass.: "A Figurative Perspective: Recent Paintings and Sculpture from the Virginia Museum," 12 March - 21 May 1989.
"Francesco Clemente Pinxit", Albright Knox Gallery, Buffalo, NY, Oct. 14, 1986 - Jan. 4, 1987; Museum of Contemporary Art, Los Angeles, Calif., Feb. 9 - March 29, 1987.
"Content - A Contemporary Focus", Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington, DC, Oct. 4, 1984 - Jan. 6, 1985.
"New Painting", Drannert Art Museum, Champaign, Il, Jan. 27, - March 11, 1984.
"Issues I-New Allegory", ICA, Boston, Jan. 12 - Dec. 28, 1982.
"Image Innovations: The Europeans", ICA, VMFA, Richmond, May 10 - June 12, 1983.
"Francesco Clemente", Seprone Westwater Fischer Gallery, NY, May 2 - 30, 1981.
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