Francesco Ruspoli. United Kingdom

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OUR NEED FOR OTHERS (PEOPLE IN GROUPS SERIES)
Inspired from Renaissance artists such as for composition Paolo Veronese and Sebastiano del Piombo by creating scenes representing group of people gathering in different places and as for colors Giovanni Battista Cima da Conegliano and Bellini by using orange, red, blue, green, Naple yellow and pink as principal pigments. Ruspoli is representing his own psycho-analytical version of contemporary societies and the relationship between individuals among social and cultural groups.
 

BIO

Born 1958 in Paris from a British mother and a Belgian father with an Italian background Ruspoli debuted in a group show at the Museum: “Bastion St Andre” in Antibes, France. He went on to present his work in salons and galleries increasing international exposure. He has been recipient of a number of important prizes and medals such as, to mention few, the Eugene Fromentin Award in France, Gold Medal from Beijing Olympic Fine Art in China, Silver Medal from Grand Prix of Rome in Italy. In 1986 Ruspoli was chosen to submit some works for the highly prestigious Automn Salon in Paris, France from which he was contacted by Galerie Atlante for a two years contract. During this time Ruspoli was approached by the British Phoenix gallery where he had several exhibitions and brought him to England. Inspired by new surroundings Ruspoli moved towards a new way of working stimulated by the influences of artists such as Francis Bacon, Frank Auerbach, Henri Matisse, Edward Munch and Egon Schiele. His work frequently places the human figures and nature in an abstract environment supported by a vivid use of colors where subtle gradation and dramatic contrast express nuance of emotion and sensuous physicality. The work also expresses the direct sensation of lived experience through organic shapes and forms woven from flowing lines and the gaze of the viewer. You are invited to participate in a creative encounter with theses elements constructing your own visual languages and meanings. “Art is about sharing visual ideas. My canvas may not have a front or a back cover but I try with each study, each painting to represent a work to be read rather than stared at. If through my work as an artist I am able to stimulate thoughts and feelings then I have achieved my goal.”
 

STATEMENT

My art explores the dynamic frontier between abstraction and figuration. This fertile area keeps alive the infinite possibilities of being human in an age intent upon closing them down. Using a strikingly vibrant palette, each painting composes a symphony of colours where subtle gradation and dramatic contrast express nuance of emotion and sensuous physicality. The work also expresses the direct sensation of lived experience through organic shapes and forms woven from flowing lines and the gaze of the viewer. You are invited to participate in a creative encounter with these elements, constructing your own visual languages and meanings. From this, questions arise about the interactions between humans and their many environments. It is hoped there also follows an increased sense of wonder at your own capacity for re-interpretation and invention which will bring an uplifting feeling to you and the world in which you are living.

Creativity for me is a special form of discovery. I start as an archaeologist of my own imagination, peeling back layers to find the essence of the image which may origin in ancient or classical art, dance or theatre. This process involves lengthy development of ideas worked through on canvas, much like Beethoven’s constant working out and refinement of his musical themes in sketches. This sometimes requires an austere Zen-like mental discipline, where I can get myself out of the way so my art can create itself. This is laborious, but is the only way I have found so far to achieve authenticity in my work. The images must speak for themselves, directly to the viewer, or what is the point?
 

My work is an exploration of relational space and its possibilities in contemporary society. Art expresses a fundamental part of what it means to be human. It is through art that the conflicts of life can be explored, better understood, brought to the surface and put into new relationships with each other. I believe we are living in an unprecedented time of the breakdown in human relationships and interactions. This is happening from the individual and personal level to the opposite geopolitical end of the spectrum. We tend to think of interactivity in terms of technology these days rather than human feeling and connection.
 

My art is meant to directly challenge this state of affairs and re-invigorate and re-inspire the emotional and spiritual dimensions of human life, which is inevitably in direct conflict with much of what we see around us in our world now. These are central question not just of what art is, but of what art does, and can or even should do.The biggest frustration has been struggling against a system that attempts to codify what sells, thereby killing creativity and individual expression. It has taken me many years to find my creative voice, and a large part of this has been a struggle against such commercial forces. They are very powerful and insidious, and institutionally dismiss or ignore what they cannot appreciate.
The relational concern of my work is intended to embrace all viewers, so their interpretations are equally valid as mine. The act of viewing is to enter a relationship – a mutual encounter of the painting and the viewer. This is why the figures in my work are placed so viscerally in relation to each other, and why this stimulates a reflection on relatedness which encompasses the viewer.
 

A vital part of interpretation is our emotional response, which incidentally is not solely the preserve of a ‘refined’ academic elite. The experience of viewing/ relating is the essence of my work so I hope my work is able to offer that precise experience to the viewer. You could say my message, theme and vision is to co-create an experience of emotional connection - whatever it might be - on that precise moment of that particular day, with this individual person in this specific space. (Francesco Ruspoli)
 

AWARDS
2008 Gold Medal, Beijing Olympic Fine Art, China
1998 Knight of the Art, Academy Greco-Marino, Italy
1995 Master Degree, Central St Martin School of Art, England
1994 Academician, Academy Greco-Marino, Italy
1991 Bronze Medal, Mairie 17em Paris, France
1988 Gold Medal, Institute French Culture, France
1987 Eugene Fromentin Award, Federation Latin, France
1986 Silver Medal, Institute French Culture, France
1986 Golden Painting of the Year, Institute of French Culture, France
1985 Bronze Medal, Biennial Villeneuve Loubet, France
1985 Silver Medal, Grand Prix of Rome, Italy

MUSEUMS AND PUBLICATIONS
Art in Vogue -100 Contemporary Artists, MOT Book, England
Gauguin Museum, Papeete, Tahiti, French Polynesia
Who’s Who in Art, Book, England
The Oxford Blue Book, England
The Cambridge Blue Book, England
International Museum Dell’Etichetta of Cupramontana, Italy
Great Minds of the 21st Century, Book, USA
Dictionary of International Biographies, Book, England
Medial1 Art Biennial 2005, Book, England
Famous -100 Contemporary Artists, MOT Book, England
Trends - 100 Contemporary Artists, MOT Book, England
Museum Contemporary Art of Chianciano, Italy
Art Unlimited - 100 Contemporary Artists, MOT Book, England
Segnalati, Contemporary Art Guide, book, Italy
Art Professionals - 33 Contemporary Artists, MOT Book, England

SET AND COSTUMES DESIGN
1999 Mind the Gap, Canal Café Theatre
1997 The May, Barons Court Theatre
1995 Snuff, London Film Festival
1995 Commercial, CTVC Studios
1995 Triangle, Cochrane Theatre
1994 Loves Labours Lost, Cochrane Theatre
1994 Shakespeare’s Universe, Barbican