40”x50” Oil on canvas for commission // 2016
b. 1988 New York. A modern romantic painter currently residing in Los Angeles. Francesca's work is done mainly in oils and charcoal on a very smooth off-white ground. This technique simulates watercolor, but creates a greater depth of transparency and prismatic color.
The cyclical nature of life, specifically in the form of a journey, is the dominant theme. Purposeful movement can be found in almost all of her paintings, as the subjects travel either towards or away from an often-unidentified point. The paintings convey the inequality of power between the landscape and its inhabitants. The natural world is presented as an impassive constant, a great entity unchanged by the passage of man. The juxtaposition of permanence and itinerancy, solidity and frailty emphasize a continuous cycle in the human condition, the idea that we are not so far from the humans of the past, and our lives are not as linear as modern attitudes suggest. The vulnerability of the figure within its surroundings is not negative, but rather a comforting reminder of the things that remain unchanged.
Francesca’s strong interests of the 19th century military history are evident in her works. The military theme lends itself to geographic change; a movement only capable by man on foot or horseback. This made for long and arduous journey with imminent death during winter months.
This subject matter is significantly different from that of most modern painters, but offers a refreshing contrast to hyper-modernity by reaffirming the presence of the past. The practice of Francesca's work is representative painting that is neither minimalist nor surrealist, but modern romantic.
BFA Pratt Institute 2011
