Our Studio Sunday artist this week is Francesco Climente. Climente was born in Naples, Italy, in 1952 and has spent much of his career working in both New York and Varanasi, India. His artwork tends to be introspective, exploring the artist’s own evolving sense of self and encouraging viewers to do the same.

The studio pictured above is expansive, and surprisingly sparse. Given Climente’s vast range of influences I might have expected to see more reference images or books stacked throughout the space – though perhaps they simply don’t appear in this particular image. I like the way that Climente is working in this photo. What looks like a single, massive elongated artwork is spread across the entire floor, and Climente seems to be slowly working his way down the length of it, kneeling on a piece of board so as not to ruin the painting.

This particular studio looks something like a warehouse – with clean, white walls and concrete floors. It may be a temporary space that Climente is using to accommodate the size of the pictured work.  I especially like the door at the far end of the space that’s letting in a little bit of sunlight. Perhaps it opens up to an outdoor space. At any rate, it adds a bit of warmth to the studio that would otherwise be missed.

Throughout his career, Climente has worked with a wide range of materials, including all manner of paint, printmaking and traditional drawing materials. He has also experimented with installation and sculpture techniques. His oeuvre also includes moments of collaboration with artists like Jean Michel Basquiat and Andy Warhol. 

[image source]