Francesco Clemente, Clouds VI, 2018, oil on canvas, 71 x 87 inches (180.3 x 221 cm);
© Francesco Clemente; Courtesy the artist and Vito Schnabel Gallery
A nomadic spirit, Francesco Clemente has enthralled art lovers for more than 40 years with his exploration of identity and spirituality. Now, his distinctive art is being celebrated with a new exhibition in St Moritz. Claire Price tells us more
Bold, erotic, distorted and spiritual, the work of artist Francesco Clemente has drawn crowds to galleries all over the world, from the Guggenheim Museum in New York City to The Royal Academy in London.
Friend of artistic A-listers Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat, collaborator of writers Allen Ginsberg and Salman Rushdie, and a leader in the Transavanguardia movement, Clemente has been hailed as both a nomad and a sage. But the artist himself has a simpler view of his life and art.
“I’m not a mystic; I’m not a contemplator,” he has previously maintained. “I’m a contemporary artist. I use traditional material and re-write it for the audience.”