Carlos Franco

Carlos Franco - Untitled

Technique: Graphite on paper

Artist Biography: The painting of Carlos Franco (Madrid, 1951) is characterized by the recurrence to themes that involve the individual unconscious and the study of the symbols of the collective unconscious. From this point of inquiry we should understand his recurrence to classicism, mythological motifs and transculturality; that is to say, the search for common roots and needs, in the background, of human behavior. From his early years of production, we can detect direct references and influences of great artists of the past, such as Van Gogh, Goya or Rubens, in terms of the loss of the visual uniformity of the skin of the painting; and Ingres, Manet, Picasso or Bacon, as creators of aesthetic and social themes, as well as movements such as Pop Art and Pompeian painting. He works within the figurative tradition, from the juxtaposition and expressiveness of color, sometimes, depending on the subject, in a voluptuous way. Among his most ambitious projects, highlights the decoration of the facade of the Real Casa de la Panadería in 1989, located in the Plaza Mayor in Madrid. His paintings have traveled to museums in different countries such as Panama, Colombia and Brazil as a result of a traveling exhibition organized in 2004 by the State Society for Cultural Action Abroad. In 2007 the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía organized an exhibition of his graphic work to be exhibited at the Monasterio de Silos in Burgos. His work is part of museums and public collections such as Artium Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo (Vitoria), Colección Los Bragales (Santander), Colección de Arte Contemporáneo "La Caixa" (Barcelona) or MNCARS Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid).