Francesco Clemente is famous for his works in contribution to the neo-expressionist movement of the 80's. His contemporary pieces all focused on the study of the human body, inspired by sexuality, myths and spirituality. Clemente often worked with oils and watercolours on paper, to experiment with the human figure, particularly the female form.
'My goal is to collect images and references from these traditions and connect them with the emotions from the present-day and common experiences.'
In my project this year, I wanted to play around with distortion of the face and the general composition of a portrait. I have taken inspiration from the way Clemente paints, particularly the way he exaggerates the features in a dream-like way. I was particularly inspired by one of his pastel series pieces, 'SELF-PORTRAIT IN WHITE, RED AND BLACK VI'. This distorted self portrait depicts Clemente but is heavily focused on the multiple sets of eyes. I found this piece intense, striking and slightly eerie which is something I'd like to recreate. Going forward I want to experiment with Clementes way of painting and really push the boundaries of composition.