Francis Salole, Woven Paintings.
What a wonderful exploration of the woven format Francis has created in this part of his practice which we are proud to be exhibiting. from out of the blue studio gallery has a mandate to promote textile and fibre arts by exhibiting the best of diverse making practices from traditional old methods and materials to the cutting edge new manipulation of differing materials that draw in some way on the heritage of textile making. These works use traditional over/under woven process and structure to create paper compositions that carry the markings of their original existence as stand alone paintings.
Francis’ primary art making explores the painted form and tradition. At an earlier stage in his artistic career Francis had embarked on a very ambitious project called One-in-a-Million. https://www.francissalole.com/single-post/2016/10/17/one-in-a-million. It evolved into a final production of 100,000 works of art on rainbow coloured papers. These paintings have become the ‘raw’ materials for the current body of work BlindSpot. Paintings have been cut into geometrically predetermined slices which have then been woven together.
Based in Paekakariki, Francis describes his work in the Blindspot exhibition:
“By dissecting previous paintings, drawings and prints, I’m breaking down past narratives and old ideas. By weaving them together I am reimagining and revivifying them” says Francis.
“Art is pattern, with the potential to soothe, confuse, surprise or alarm.”
“We are pattern – seeking beings. Through our exquisite suite of senses we perceive complex patterns and weave them moment to moment into a model of who we are and what the world is.”
Francis hosted a very enjoyable Exhibition Gathering to mark the opening of this, his first solo showing. It has been a very exciting time for Francis and his family as he has recently been shortlisted as a finalist for the Parkin Drawing Prize as well.
from out of the blue studio gallery are very pleased to be hosting this vibrant and stimulating collection of works especially as Francis is also the first ever male exhibitor we have hosted and that is a very significant milestone for the gallery.
On the final week of the six weeks of the exhibition Francis will return to be the Artist in Residence, staying in the taradise accommodation on the property. He will be hosting both planned and popup workshops over this time so please contact the gallery if you are interested in these so we can let you know specific times and places. He will be here from August 11th 2022 – August 15th 2022.
In the meantime, come and sort through the collection of unframed woven works – some are woven postcards from Francis’s personal collection saved from a previous globe trotting phase of his life, others are derived from the One-in-a-Million Project. You can make your own collage of works . Mix and match, play with the patterns and the colours. Look at the small details contained in each work as you examine them carefully while deciding.
