Gianluca Franzese

The vast network of interconnecting lines, depth of colors, and repeating shapes of Gianluca’s Franzese’s artwork is the luminous expression of an artist whose intention is to create balance and harmony by using geometry.

With an intention to find “balance” in his work, Franzese is an artist unconstrained by even his own methods. Working with no standard format or formula, each panel and canvas created by Franzese is its own singular creation.

Born in Italy, Franzese has been around precious metals his whole life. His father was a jeweler and thus a young Gianluca was exposed to the craftsmanship of metal leafing at an early age.

The family moved to New York, where Franzese attended the prestigious Pratt Institute of Art before following his roots back to Italy where Franzese abandoned the contemporary art world and

2.22 ETH

22k gold leaf, 18k gold leaf, 12k white gold leaf, silver leaf, aluminum leaf with acrylic glazes on Gesso Fabriano paper.

17.75” x 20.5" steeped himself in the traditional styles and methods of the old masters at the esteemed Florence Academy of Art. He spent four years in Florence learning the craft of sight size, sculpture and mixing paints.

With his classical training complete, Franzese moved back to the US and settled in San Francisco where the artist lives, works and plays today. The skillful young artist quickly achieved success in San Francisco including being commissioned to create a series of paintings for the historic Presidio Foundation.

Franzese would soon take another sabbatical to Italy where he worked for private clients in a mélange of art mediums, including decorative painting where he honed his skill at metal leafing and trompe-l’œil.

At a career crossroads Franzese returned to his studio in San Francisco.

Inspired by the glimmering gold leaf work of Gustav Klimt, the smooth shapes and designs of Frank Lloyd Wright, the groundbreaking pattern work of William Morris, and the facets of Art Deco, Franzese fused his varied inspirations. Summoning his skills and creativity, Franzese began his exploration of mixing glazing techniques on metal leaf.

Franzese’s view of the art studio as laboratory allowed him the freedom to learn the flexibility and tone of different metal leafs and how to create different colors and luminosity. As his exploration and craftsmanship evolved, Franzese began to form various geometric styles and patterns bending the viewer’s eye and imagination.

Crepuscular

2.67 ETH

22k gold leaf, 18k gold leaf, 12k white gold leaf, silver leaf, aluminum leaf, with acrylic glazes on Gesso Fabriano paper.

24.5” x 17.5”

Without a finished design in mind, Franzese’s work is an intuitive process. The artist is guided by his response to the color, luminosity and vibrancy towards which each work gravitates.

Gianluca Franzese has forged a novel, expressive and evolutionary style of art whose core is manifesting balance and harmony with geometric configurations. At his studio laboratory he labors daily to explore new directions, colors and patterns to create balance. Each work of art is embedded with hand-layered metal leafs, variations of handmade glazes and Franzese’s unique style and creativity.

8.33 ETH

Aluminum, silver, 12k white gold, 18k and 22k gold leaf with acrylic glazes on panel 34” x 44"

Franzese’s meticulous handcrafted and evolving work is regularly commissioned for private collectors, public institutions and corporate foundations.

When asked about integrating metalwork into his art: “First of all, you have to have a plan. I knew there was something more you could do with it. It took a lot of training and a lot of patience. The trickiest part is how to get the paint to stick to the metal permanently. If you know what you’re doing, nothing is impossible. I started very simply. One metal leaf, just to get an idea of how to control it. Then came glazing. It took a while to figure it all out. It’s all experimenting and time.”

FallETH

2.67 ETH

22k gold leaf, 18k gold leaf, 12k white gold leaf, silver leaf, aluminum leaf, imitation gold leaf with acrylic glazes on Gesso Fabriano paper 24.5” x 17.5”

Chainmail

16.03 ETH

This work is the result of a 7 month process. The mediums used are. Aluminum, silver, 12k white gold, 18k , and 22k gold leaf with acrylic glazes on panel 48 x 60 ¾ inches

RealNifty: https://www.realnifty.xyz/artist/gfranzese_eth

Website: https://gfranzese.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gianlucafranzese/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gianluca-franzese-91970b3/