Artist Francesco Clemente at the opening of A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Last night, Francesco Clemente’s latest show at Deitch Projects opened with a star-studded evening in SoHo. The exhibition consists of large-scale watercolor paintings that are positioned in a continuous line along the gallery walls. This particular hanging corresponds to Clemente’s aim to embed art with a spiritual experience. The idea of a rainbow closely reflects the works in the show. For Clemente, a rainbow is a symbolic structure that sets up connections between people and worlds, and using watercolor allows the light of the paper to come through. Moreover, the watercolors are bright and come after a long period in which the artist worked with a darker palette. In order to arrive at the final form of the works, Clemente started out with three large scale canvases that were each 60 foot (about 18 meters) long. He then divided each of them by cutting them into five separate sections. When hung next to each other, the rainbows reconnect in the mind of the viewer. The iconography in the work is derived from candomblé from the Americas, alchemy from Europe and tantra from India. The exhibition will run through May 30, 2009. Among the crowd were Goldie Hawn and daughter Kate Hudson who were enjoying the show with artist Dustin Yellin who was is now showing at Robert Miller Gallery and who was interviewed by AO recently here.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
A History of the Heart in Three Rainbows
Deitch Projects
18 Wooster Street, New York
May 2, 2009 – May 30, 2009
RELATED LINKS
Exhibition Page and Press Release [Deitch Projects]
Francesco Clemente at Deitch [Purple Diary]
Francesco Clemente: The History of the Heart in Three Rainbows [Dante Ross]
Francesco Clemente [Daily Serving]
Gallerist Jeffrey Deitch. Photo by Art Observed.
Jody and Peter Robbins. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Clemente’s work references Expressionism, Surrealism, but also relates to Oriental religious philosophies. Throughout the early stages of his career, he completed mostly drawings and other works on paper. He often dealt with the human form, especially the female form, and his own image. His other signature subject-matter is spirituality and myth, and non-Western imagery and dreamlike phantasms. His use of figuration made him a prominent figure with the Neo-Expressionism movement, together with artists such as Julian Schnabel and Georg Baselitz. Later on during his career, Clemente also took up oil painting and watercolor, and he extended his practice to poetry and design.
Victory Brito, Stacey Engman, Kathy Battista and Brian Marks.
Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Artist Francesco Clemente and Billy Leroy.
Photo by Art Observed.
Francesco Clemente was born in Naples in 1952. He started out with literature and classical languages, but studied architecture at the University of Rome. Clemente developed himself as a self-taught painter. His career took off in the 1970s, a decade characterized by several exhibitions throughout Europe and travel through the Middle East with fellow artist Alighiero Boetti. In the early 1980s, Clemente took part in the Venice Biennale and subsequently moved to New York City. During the 1980s, he gained fame throughout the United States and Europe. He collaborated with Jean-Michael Basquiat and Andy Warhol. His first retrospectives took place in the 1990s, with Clemente at the Solomon R. Guggenheim in New York in 1999. Francesco Clemente is now a highly distinguished artist with exhibitions at blue-chip galleries and renowned museums throughout the world.
Karen Young and artist Jacqueline Hassink.
Photo by Art Observed.
Rachel and Paz de la Huerta. Via purple DIARY.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Jeffrey Deitch. Photo by Art Observed.
New York Times pop music editor Sia Michel and Sarah Lash of Cinetic Media.
Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Claudia Paetzold, Carlota Perez and Aran Cravey. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Pauline and Eric Cochran. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Artists Lerone Wilson and Lesny JN Felix. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Artist Dustin-Yellin. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Artist Jordan Betten, Sun Bae and Abraxas Rex conspirator Paris Kain.
Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Artist Clayton Patterson and Billy Leroy.
Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Glamo and K. Tyson Pehez-EIC. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Yanusz Gilewicz and Page. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
From center to right: Paul O’Donnell, John Polly and Marc Leonard.
Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Krystyna, Nathan Tucker and Joshua Reed. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Opening Francesco Clemente’s A History of the Heart in
Three Rainbows at Deitch Projects. Photo by Art Observed.
Exhibition Poster. Via Deitch Projects.
For Art Observed by Gabriëlle Lucille
