ARTIST STATEMENT
These pieces are the forerunners of large works that allude to the arrogance, greed, cruelty, vanity and madness of a number of men in power, now inflicting their poison on our world. These are men found in our own government and in corporations. Some possess vast wealth, some have the power to decide the fate of entire nations, as with Mr. Putin who now devastates a country. All of them, or so it seems, sport the “power dress”–suit and tie. The tie is especially symbolic–of power, and I’d argue, if the dark side be exposed, of a kind of fear of impotence. The tie is almost comical. It is a depotentiated, flaccid sort of “member”. It is a kind of child’s bib and an externalized badge of identity. I wanted these small depictions to have the feel of cartoons, of book illustrations by distant European illustrators–a little sad, a little flabby.
I work in my studio each day, making paintings and sculptures. For twenty years I made etchings in a marvelous studio in Barcelona, but owing to Covid and its restrictions, I have not been able to travel. In 2011 I was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer. In the process of radiation treatment, I experienced visions that eventually became a large book of etchings and text. Last year, my book, “31 Days” (Edition of 15) was acquired by the Biblioteca Nacional de Catalunya. I am proud that this book will remain in the collection of this esteemed library.
ABOUT THE ARTIST
I have been a proud member of Woman Made Gallery for many years now. I was privileged to have an exhibition of my War installation, “In Flanders Fields” in 2012 at Woman Made Gallery.
I was an artist as a child, attending Museum School in Newark, New Jersey for 12 years. I graduated from Bennington College where I majored in Music and Art. I have a Masters degree from New York University in Art and Art Education. I have taught at New York University, Nassau County Fine Arts Museum, the University of Pilsen, Czech Republic, The Carving Studio and Sculpture Canter, to name some of the places where I was privileged to teach. I was represented by the Louis K. Meisel Gallery in the 70s and 80s as a member of the Photorealist group. I moved on, making art that is now more personal and experimental. I have shown large sculptural works at the Venice Biennale in 2017 and 2019, and shown work in the United States and in Europe for some decades.
© Fran Bull