Timeless?March 4 - April 18, 2011
ABOUT THIS SHOW
Gianluca Franzese in his studio
fabric8 is pleased to present Timeless?, a solo exhibition of oil and acrylic paintings by San Francisco-based artist Gianluca Franzese.
In his first one-man show, Gianluca Franzese explores iconic, mostly San Francisco, urban architecture that others sometimes neglect to recognize the beauty of, from the haunting image of the old Mission Police Station to The First to the Front statue at the intersection of Market and Dolores Streets.
In two styles of painting -- plein-air oils and black/white/aluminum leaf acrylics – Franzese addresses the theme of transformation in the city, rendering places that have fallen into disrepair and decay. Whether they rise again or fall away, they will never quite be the same.
Much like his interest in forgotten urban landscape, Franzese's technique incorporates disregarded methods of art production. Painted with a fine acrylic brush, his realistic black-and-white works communicate his interest in intaglio printmaking. Accordingly, his oil pieces are eerily photographic because of the time spent painting on location, capturing the subject matter in its natural environment.
Thus Timeless? begs more than one question, to which the exhibition may or may not have the answer.
Gianluca Franzese was born in Italy and raised in New York, where he studied painting at Pratt Institute before transferring to the Florence Academy of Art to learn the skill and technique of the Old Masters. He moved to San Francisco in 2001 to pursue art, and worked his way to representation by the Weinstein Gallery in 2003. After another move to and from Italy and a hiatus from painting, Franzese has returned to San Francisco and again picked up the brushes.
Timeless? was on exhibit from March 4 through April 18, 2011 at fabric8, 3318 22nd Street, San Francisco.