Mark Francis was born in Newtownards in 1962. As a student, he attended the prestigious St Martins School of Art (1980–1985) and Chelsea School of Art (1985–1986) in London. Rapidly associated with the Young British Artists – one of the UK’s most influential artistic generations – Francis seized important opportunities as an emerging artist. His participation in seminal shows such as The Adventure of Painting at the Kunstverein Düsseldorf/Stuttgart, and From Here at the Karsten Schubert/Waddington Galleries in London, are great examples.
Artistically, Francis balances influences of his era and very personal themes and subjects. In terms of technique and methodology, he favours a wet-on-wet technique offering an abstracted blur finish reminiscent of Gerhard Richter. Aesthetically, the grid – a staple motif of the latter half of the 20th Century – finds its way into Francis’s work. But whereas many of his peers use it as a structural means, Francis prefers it for its perceptive potential. This graphic tool serves more unique interests, namely a long-standing passion for science and how it can inform artistic creation. Francis draws from various discoveries and imbues his practice with mechanical and theoretical elements. The matter-penetrating gaze of electrons; imagery of the miniature universe microscopes; graphic interpretations of data received by radio telescopes – all these technological marvels have challenged and inspired Francis’s work. The historical weight of the modernist grid is balanced by the cutting-edge knowledge it borrows from and mimics. From the cosmos to microscopic fungi, every subject is a creative opportunity to explore chaos and order through carefully curated layers of patterns.
Unsurprisingly, Francis has been in demand through the years. Here is a selection of solo shows: Palazzo Collicola, Spoleto Italy (2022); White Light, Kerlin Gallery (2019); There is Geometry in the Humming of the Strings, Peninsula Arts Gallery, Plymouth University, UK (2016); Arena, Abbot Hall Gallery, UK (2010) and Pulse, Dublin City Gallery, The Hugh Lane, Dublin (2008). Recent group exhibitions include: Coming Out: Sexuality, Gender and Identity, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, UK (2019); Abstract Painting Now! Kunsthalle Krems, Austria (2017); Deep One Perfect Morning, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (2014); Strukturen Projekt, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Germany, (2014): Dirimart, Istanbul (2014); Lets Party For A Piece Of Art, Pinakothek der Moderne, Munich, Germany (2011); Creating the New Century – Contemporary Art from the Dicke Collection, Fort Collins Museum of Contemporary Art (FCMOCA), Fort Collins, CO, USA (2011); LITOS GRAFERA, Kunst Centret Silkeborg Bad, Silkeborg, Denmark (2011); Cream – Kiasma, Museum of Contemporary Art, Helsinki, Finland (2010); Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (2010); Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland (2010); What lies beneath the surface, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2008); Die Kunst zu sammeln, Museum Kunst Palast, Düsseldorf, Germany (2007); ART FUTURES, Bloomberg SPACE, London (2005); Irish Art Now: From the Poetic to the Political, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago, USA; The McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College, MA, USA; Art Gallery of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada and Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast, and Northern Ireland; PS1, New York, NY, USA; Albright-Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo, NY (all 2000); IMMA Glenn Dimplex Award exhibition Irish Museum of Modern Art (1996), Absolute Vision; New British Painting in the 1990s, Museum of Modern Art Oxford (1996); Sensation Young British Artists from the Saatchi Collection exhibition (1997).
Mark Francis currently lives and works in London.
