Franko B Solo Show

Franko B,New Art Projects

In 2019 Franko B was commissioned to make a major exhibition and installation at Rua Red in Dublin curated by a/political. New Art Projects presents two major pieces from the show for a London Audience in 2021 and to include them in this, his first solo show at the gallery.

Franko B was raised in an Italian orphanage and Boarding School run by the Italian Red Cross, and it these experiences that he discusses in this exhibition. He has created a particular vision of a childhood surrounded by many other childhoods and alongside images of home, such as it was, and as how it could have been.

Working in glazed ceramics which he fires in his own kiln, B has made multiple small childlike figures that together form a giant red cross and a giant heart. Fixed onto the walls, they collectively form, document and represent all of the children who like Franko, passed through the hands of the Red Cross and comment on the continuing scandals and abuse of vulnerable children. The resulting installations are monumental in scale placing the viewer in front of towering walls that represent the scale and scope of the problem.

Smaller in scale and displayed on plinths, are ‘Houses’ which Franko B has constructed out of sheets of glazed, fired clay. These houses represent the safe spaces that are constructed by the mind, which stand up as walls of protection, to enclose historical events and memories. As with much of B’s work they resonate with love, memory and loss, and become poetic reminders of security, once held dear.

Franko B has also included a series of portraits on mirrored glass. These works both represent images to the viewer and reflect the viewing drawing your own image into the work. Along side these pieces are some new objects Franko B has been making in his kiln, Constructed from delicate white glazed ceramic, and embellished with gold and silver leaf, these small sculptures are figurative, abstract and votive. The combine a tactile surface with a fragility that singles them out as both precious and desirable .

Duration 05 November 2021 - 23 December 2021
Times Wednesday - Sat 11.00 - 6.00
Cost free
Venue New Art Projects
Address 6D Sheep Lane, London, E8 4QS
Contact 020 7249 4032 / info@newartprojects.com / www.newartprojects.com

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