Bristol-based artist Ian Francis continues to create powerful artworks using a combination of abstraction and figuration. His approach incorporates elements of drawing and painting as he layers multiple visual components on the same canvas. In his recent exhibition, titled Endless Summer, intricate compositions seem to appear as snapshots suspended in time and contain moments of both clarity and distortion.
Francis has a knack for dramatics. We see partially-rendered figures placed against fields of dark colors, mysterious textures, and in unknown locations. The artist is interested in representing ideas of utopia and dystopia, while referencing the jumble of images that we see during any given day; he's intrigued by the circumstances that bring these random pictures together, like when a realistically-painted woman is paired with non-representational brush strokes.
Endless Summer is on view at Outsiders Gallery in London until October 4 of this year.
