Francesco Clemente: Watchtowers, Keys, Threads, Gates

On an immersive, multi-authored installation led by Clemente at Dallas Contemporary

This book documents a 2019 installation by Francesco Clemente (born 1952) at Dallas Contemporary, consisting of a mural realized with three Oaxacan artists and two series of large-scale sculptures made with Indian artisans. The site-specific fresco consists of new zodiac signs invented by the artist, including a diver and two snails opposing one another, embellished with sepia-toned waves.
For Clemente, these personal zodiac signs serve as symbols of gates, serving perhaps as pathways to spiritual realms or alternate realities. His mixed-media sculptures also feature charged symbols of liminality such as ladders, labyrinths, gates, doors and keys.
These recent works reflect Clemente’s ongoing exploration of spirituality, mythological narratives and symbolism through surreal, quasi-religious content. The overall dreamlike atmosphere produced by this large-scale installation is firmly in keeping with Clemente’s uncanny and fantastic imaginary.

Francesco Clemente (né en 1952 à Naples, vit et travaille à New York) est un artiste et peintre italien représentatif du mouvement Trans-avant-garde et du « retour à la figuration ». Les thèmes prédominants de son travail sont la religion et la spiritualité par lesquels il s'attache à décrire la forme humaine, la liaison entre l'homme et l'animal, ainsi que tout un lexique de motifs symboliques. Il a collaboré avec les artistes Jean-Michel Basquiat et Andy Warhol et mis en images la poésie de Robert Creeley, Allen Ginsberg, John Wieners, Rene Ricard et Derek Walcott. Clemente est membre de l'Académie américaine des arts et des lettres.