Francesco Clemente – Studio Visit | TateShots

Tate

30 May 201204:38

Summary

TLDRFrancesco Clemente, a New York-based artist, discusses his unique approach to art, emphasizing organic creativity and geographical influences. Having lived in Italy, India, and New York, his work is shaped by remembrance and the desire to step outside cultural circles to view them more fully. He views his art as ritualistic, generating memory and guidance for daily life. Collaboration plays a key role, working with poets like Allen Ginsberg and artists like Basquiat. His upcoming exhibit centers on nostalgia, utopia, and the belief that memory fuels hope for a more interesting future.

Takeaways

🎨 Francesco Clemente is an artist and painter based in New York City.
🌿 He views his work as organic and non-linear, expanding from a central point.
🗺️ Clemente moved to New York in 1980 from India, and his artistic journey has been influenced by geography rather than history.
🔄 He often creates art in one place while being inspired or nostalgic for another, which gives his work a sense of remembrance.
🔮 Rituals are essential to his artistic process, where creating forms and gestures can evoke memories that guide daily life.
🤝 Collaboration is a core element of his practice, reflecting his belief in a fragmented identity. He has worked with craftsmen in India and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Robert Feeny in New York.
🎨 Clemente has also collaborated with notable painters such as Jean-Michel Basquiat, who was his neighbor, and Francesco Wawro.
💡 He is currently working on a series of 10 paintings, drawing inspiration from various writers, artists, and fictional figures.
🌀 The theme of nostalgia is a recurring motif in his work, which he views as an 'engine of utopia'—connecting memory with hope for the future.
🌟 Clemente emphasizes that believing in a past also signifies a belief in a more interesting and hopeful future.

Q & A

Who is Francesco Clemente and what is his profession?
-Francesco Clemente is an artist and painter who lives in New York City.
How does Francesco Clemente describe his artistic process?
-Clemente describes his artistic process as organic and expanding from a center, rather than linear. He views his work as fluid, growing in various directions.
Why did Francesco Clemente move to New York City in 1980?
-Clemente moved to New York City in 1980 after living in India. He felt that geography offered a way out of the cultural crisis that marked his generation in Italy.
How does Clemente view geography and history in relation to his work?
-Clemente believes that by focusing on geography rather than history, he can escape the dead-end of cultural crisis. He uses travel to expand his perspective and artistic expression.
How does nostalgia influence Francesco Clemente’s work?
-Nostalgia plays a significant role in Clemente’s work, as he constantly reflects on the places he has lived. For example, when in New York, he misses India, and when in India, he thinks of Italy. Nostalgia fuels his sense of utopia, where memories shape his hopes for the future.
What role does ritual play in Francesco Clemente’s art?
-Clemente sees his work as a form of ritual. By making the correct gestures and forms, he believes that art generates a type of memory that can guide one's daily life.
How does collaboration fit into Francesco Clemente’s artistic practice?
-Collaboration is a key part of Clemente's work. He has worked with Indian craftsmen, New York poets like Allen Ginsberg and Robert Feeny, and painters like Jean-Michel Basquiat and Wawro. These collaborations help challenge his tastes and self-perception.
What is Francesco Clemente’s view on identity?
-Clemente believes that identity is fragmented, and that individuals are not singular but are composed of many different identities. This idea is reflected in his collaborative work.
What themes does Clemente explore in his upcoming show?
-Clemente’s upcoming show features 10 paintings inspired by various writers, artists, and fictional figures, including deities from different traditions. Themes of nostalgia and utopia are central to the works.
What does Francesco Clemente mean by 'nostalgia is the engine of utopia'?
-Clemente suggests that nostalgia, or the remembrance of the past, fuels the hope for a better future. If one believes in the past, one also believes in the future, and this optimism drives his utopian vision.

Outlines

00:00

🎨 The Artist's Journey and Organic Approach to Painting

Francesco Clemente introduces himself as a painter living in New York City. He describes his approach to art as non-linear, comparing it to something organic that expands from a center. Clemente highlights his decision to move to New York from India in 1980, driven by a desire to escape the historical crisis in Italy and explore different geographies. He believes stepping outside one's familiar environment is necessary to gain perspective and reflects on how he creates art in one place while thinking about another. The concept of remembrance plays a crucial role in his work, as he frequently contemplates the places he has been and the rituals associated with them.

🪔 The Importance of Ritual and Memory in Art

Clemente expresses his deep connection to rituals, which he sees as central to his creative process. He explains that performing the correct gesture and using the right form in art can evoke memories that guide one's life. His studio is filled with meaningful objects that serve as reminders of what his work should feel like. These objects anchor him in his artistic practice, blending the personal and the ritualistic. His art becomes a vehicle for maintaining and accessing memories, making the creative act a meditative and intentional process.

🤝 Collaboration and Fragmented Identity in Art

For Clemente, collaboration is an essential part of his artistic identity. He believes that human identity is fragmented, with each person embodying multiple personas. This belief has led him to collaborate with a wide range of individuals, from Indian craftsmen to New York poets like Allen Ginsberg and Robert Feeny. He has also worked with artists like Basquiat, his neighbor, and painters of older generations, challenging his own tastes and self-perception through these interactions. Collaboration, for Clemente, becomes a way to explore and expand the multifaceted nature of identity.

🖼️ Themes of Nostalgia and Utopia in Art

Clemente discusses his current project, a series of ten paintings for which he is still considering titles, possibly 'Nostalgia Utopia' or 'My Family Tree.' Each painting draws inspiration from various writers, artists, or fictional figures, often tied to deities from different traditions. Nostalgia is a recurring theme in his work, but Clemente views it as more than a longing for the past; he sees it as the engine of utopia. According to him, memory fuels hope, and the belief in having a past is connected to the belief in a future. This optimistic view holds that the future will be more exciting and meaningful than the present.

Mindmap

Keywords

💡Organic

In the video, Francesco Clemente describes his artwork as 'organic,' indicating that his creative process is fluid, natural, and constantly evolving. Rather than following a structured or linear method, his work expands and develops from a central idea or theme. This reflects his broader philosophy of art as something that grows and transforms over time, much like living organisms.

💡Geography vs. History

Clemente explains that his artistic journey involved a shift from focusing on 'history' to 'geography.' This distinction emphasizes his preference for exploring different cultures and places (geography) rather than adhering to traditional historical narratives. His travels, particularly to India, played a significant role in shaping his work, allowing him to break free from the limitations of his Italian artistic background.

💡Ritual

Rituals hold significant importance in Clemente's work. He describes his creative process as a form of ritual, where correct gestures and forms can generate memory and guidance in daily life. This suggests that his art is not only a visual expression but also a spiritual or meditative practice, deeply connected to personal and collective memory.

💡Collaboration

Collaboration is a core element of Clemente's artistic process. He emphasizes working with various individuals, including Indian craftsmen, poets like Allen Ginsberg, and artists such as Jean-Michel Basquiat. This collaborative approach reflects his belief in fragmented identity, where multiple perspectives and voices come together to enrich his artwork and challenge his creative boundaries.

💡Fragmented Identity

Clemente discusses the idea of 'fragmented identity,' suggesting that a person is not a singular entity but is composed of many different selves or personas. This concept informs his collaborative work, where engaging with other artists and cultures allows him to explore different facets of his own identity, adding layers of complexity to his art.

💡Nostalgia

Nostalgia plays a crucial role in Clemente's paintings. He describes it as a driving force behind his work, as many of his pieces are inspired by figures from his past or different traditions. However, he views nostalgia not as a longing for the past, but as an 'engine of utopia,' suggesting that memory fuels hope and the vision of a better future.

💡Utopia

In the video, Clemente connects the concept of utopia with nostalgia. He believes that if we have a memory of the past, we also have hope for the future, and this hope creates a vision of utopia. His artwork reflects this belief, as he seeks to convey a sense of idealism and possibility through his nostalgic themes.

💡Remembrance

Remembrance is a central theme in Clemente’s work. He views his art as a way of generating and preserving memories, which serve as guidance in both his personal life and artistic practice. This focus on memory ties into his broader themes of nostalgia and ritual, where remembering the past becomes a tool for shaping the future.

💡New York, India, Italy

Clemente's connection to New York, India, and Italy represents the geographical influences on his work. These places hold personal and artistic significance for him, as they shape his creative process and his sense of identity. He explains that while he creates art in one location, he often longs for another, reflecting a constant state of cultural and emotional displacement.

💡Memory

Memory is a recurring concept in the video, where Clemente discusses how his work is driven by a need to capture and reflect on memories. This idea is closely tied to his use of rituals and his exploration of nostalgia. For Clemente, memory serves as a link between the past, present, and future, influencing both the content and form of his art.

Highlights

Francesco Clemente describes his identity as a painter, noting that his work is organic and expanding from a center rather than linear.

He moved to New York in 1980 from India, explaining that he belongs to a generation in Italy marked by crisis.

Clemente found inspiration in geography rather than history as a way to escape the dead-end of his generation.

He emphasizes the importance of stepping outside of a circle to gain perspective as an artist.

Clemente’s work is deeply tied to remembrance, and he values the idea of ritual in his artistic process.

He believes that making the correct gesture and dealing with correct forms can generate memory that guides daily life.

Clemente's studio is filled with meaningful objects that remind him of what his own work should feel like.

Collaboration is key to his work, as he views identity as fragmented and finds it essential to collaborate with others.

He has worked with craftsmen in India and poets like Allen Ginsberg and Robert Feeny in New York.

Clemente has also collaborated with artists like Basquiat, who was his neighbor, and Wawro, an older artist.

His collaborations help challenge the limits of his tastes, inclinations, and sense of self.

Clemente is working on a group of 10 paintings for a show, though he is still searching for a title.

Potential titles for his show include 'Nostalgia Utopia' or 'My Family Tree,' reflecting his themes of memory and hope.

Each painting is inspired by a writer, artist, or fictional figure, blending cultural references with personal nostalgia.

Clemente believes nostalgia fuels utopia, asserting that memory creates hope for a future more interesting than the present.