International Acclaim
Jan Woolley meets artist Augustus Francis, whose work is featured in private collections and galleries throughout the world
The work of artist Augustus Francis is becoming increasingly sought-after following exhibitions in Munich, Tokyo, Los Angeles and London.
His art is monumental in terms of stature, colour and composition and his large studio, located in the grounds of the Grade II listed country house in which he lives, is filled with huge oil paintings and all the preparatory work that goes with them. The studio is an exuberant reflection of this quietly spoken man, who was born in California and who was immersed in art from his early years.
His father, the late Sam Francis, is a globally recognised American abstract expressionist, whose work today can be found in international museum collections.
His mother Margaret Francis is also an artist and as a young boy, growing up in Beverly Hills, Augustus was encouraged to join his parents in their Los Angeles studio: “You could say I have been painting since I was a baby. I remember helping my dad mix colours,” recalls Augustus.
“I was seven when he died – so when you don’t have many memories, you value them even more.”
At the age of nine, Augustus and his mother returned to the UK and settled in the Ribble Valley close to Stonyhurst College, where he was educated: “It was quite a shock to the system moving from LA, where I would finish school at 3pm then go to the beach to surf and play basketball, to moving to boarding school in England, which was much more structured.
“But I enjoyed it – growing up in a landscape that has ultimately influenced my painting.”
After leaving Stonyhurst Augustus went to Leeds University where he studied art and where, in his third year, began to develop his current style.
“When you are doing art at uni you can try everything, but I was always drawn back to abstract. It wasn’t a conscious decision – as a painter you have to be true to yourself.
“The style I have developed is like a language I can call my own, each mark on the canvas like a word or syllable. I feel like each work says something.”
When he graduated, Augustus returned to the country house he now calls home. Designed by Lutyens, the 1920s hall with its detached pavilions and Grade II listed gardens are the perfect, peaceful backdrop in which to work.
In a series of fortuitous events, Augustus got his first show in LA as a young artist in his early twenties: “It went very well and this led to me being invited to show my work at a gallery in Munich, where I started showing regularly.”
Around this time Augustus also got an internship at the Guggenheim in Venice: “I loved it! You’re spending time with modern masterpieces by Picasso and Jackson Pollock – the Moon Woman by Pollock became one of my favourites. Being around all that talent was really formative.”
After Venice, Augustus split his time between New York, where he started a collaboration with the world-renowned Leonard Hutton Gallery, and his home in the English countryside.
“As an artist, if you want see people you have to travel to all these places,” says Augustus. “I’ve met with Jonathan Novak in LA and that’s going to be my next show. It’s a group show, ‘Works on Paper’, and features notable examples of abstraction, minimalism and pop art.
“They have described me as a British artist, which pleases me as it gives me some autonomy from my parents. It felt really nice to be described as British – and they’ve put me next to David Hockney.”
Inspired by art history, in particular post-war abstract, Augustus adds: “Yves Klein is one of my favourites at the moment – he was interested in the sublime and is known for ‘Klein blue’, and I’m currently working with a similar blue.
“Colour can be seen and felt, it can stimulate our emotions and I like my paintings to be reactionary. I want the viewer to gain an immaterial sensation through material means and to reference my love of colour interplaying on the surface. I want them to have an emotional experience.”
Splitting his time between his Mayfair studio in London and his home studio, Augustus’ larger works are borne out of months of preparatory smaller paintings.
“When I get the inspiration to do something monumental, a statement piece, I paint in series – I may do anything between 20 and 50 works on paper, developing a colour palette, before getting to the final piece when I feel like I have really achieved something.
“When I am painting I feel it’s not a conscious thing – I am inspired by many things. When you visit a city and see other paintings, it stays with you.
“Memories stay with you, but we change as people and as we change that alters the way we see things,” adds Augustus, who says while he has learnt much from his parents and other artists, he has developed his own unique style.
He uses beeswax as a medium in some of his paintings – applying it with a palette knife and pouring metallic paint over it: “It gives more of an architectural feel to the painting. For the viewer it’s more tactile and heightens the experience.
“As an artist you move forward and find your own way. The hardest part is to develop something that’s recognisable as yours and I think I have definitely achieved that – it’s like my own code, something to decipher.”
Since visiting Venice in his early twenties Augustus has returned many times and more recently during one of his trips, was introduced to a glassmaker at world-renowned Murano.
“I was commissioned to do a private sculpture in glass in an apartment building – it features glass teardrops of light made by Murano, each cascading down a surface. It is one of the largest indoor sculptures in Switzerland.”
Inspired by the natural world and the idea of working in three-dimensions as opposed to two, he adds: “I chose glass as a natural medium that lets light and colour flow through.”
More recently he has worked with Murano to replicate shards of natural slate and stone to create beautiful sculptures in a cool colour palette that gleams with light when viewed from various angles.
Looking to the future, he says: “In terms of my painting I would like to be respected and in terms of a personal goal I would like to be as good as my parents.
“My work is unique and if it has some merit then that’s probably enough.”
