SHINGO FRANCIS LIMINAL PRESENCE
WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY
SHINGO FRANCIS LIMINAL PRESENCE “Artwork is transformative. If it can release a kind of energy that has been stored, it can be a cathartic experience. I think we all need that in some way, from all kinds of art. It’s a release. ” - Shingo Francis Santa Monica, CA - William Turner Gallery is pleased to present Shingo Francis: Liminal Presence, a series of exceptional new works, opening November 18th, 2023 - January 6th, 2024. Utilizing interference paint, a medium with mercurial properties, Francis dials into the phenomenology of perception to produce works that resonate with subtle shifts of color to extraordinary effect. Their nuance invites a quiet curiosity, provoking a sense of wonder as one moves Zen-like into an exploration of engaged contemplation on the cyclical nature of time and liminal space. With a Japanese mother and American father, Mako Idemitsu and Sam Francis, highly regarded artists themselves, Shingo Francis grew up between Tokyo and Santa Monica, immersed in art and absorbing the sensibilities of both cultures. Early professors noted the young artist’s eye for color and interest in the color theory of Joseph Albers. On a trip to Paris, Francis sought out the great abstract painter, Joan Mitchell, for her feedback on his work. She told him, “You can paint, but you’re just illustrating. It’s just empty. If you really want to paint, you’re going to have to reach deep inside and pull it out.” This had a profound effect and inspired Francis to think about his work in more intimate, contemplative terms. Accordingly, Francis’ work investigates and synthesizes traditional Japanese philosophies and aesthetics with Southern California practices. He employs many
Japanese concepts such as: “wabi-sabi”, an acceptance of transient and austere beauty; as well as “Yūgen”, a concept of profound and mysterious beauty, often associated with the subtle and hidden. The concept invites viewers to engage more deeply with the art and environment, encouraging a contemplative and engaging approach to perception. Francis harnesses these observances into a process-based practice of abstraction, with clear connections to Light and Space and Southern California’s influences. Observing environmental permutations are a part of this practice. Francis notes that the northerly atmosphere in Japan casts a cooler light which is bluer, while the Southern Californian sun is warmer offering a fuller spectrum. In Liminal Presence, Shingo Francis has utilized the uniquely, expressive properties of interference paints to exploit their evershifting character. The paint contains very small beads of mica particles suspended in an oil medium. This creates an optical effect, with the beads splintering the spectrum of light to produce color, similar to the way rainbows prism light through atmospheric water. The gossamer-like paint particles are cut at angles which determine which spectrum of color one sees. The beads themselves are void of actual pigment. Shimmering colors shift as the viewer moves and changes perspective. The resulting paintings are paradoxical in nature, at times minimal in their subtlety, at others, dazzling spectacles of color. The paintings also serve to explore the abstract nature of perception, which extends beyond the works as “art objects”, to underscore their role as “catalysts” for a deeper awareness of the viewer’s presence in time and space.
Casper Brindle Light-Glyph I 2021 Pigmented acrylic 74” x 44” x 12”
Ambient Light 2023 Oil on canvas 76” x 76”
Summer Essence 2023 Acrylic on canvas 64” x 64”
Future is Bright 2023 Oil on canvas 64” x 64”
Subtle Radiance, 2023, Oil on canvas , 64” x 64”
Hope for the Morrow, 2023, Oil on canvas, 64” x 64”
Casper Brindle Light-Glyph I 2021 Pigmented acrylic 74” x 44” x 12”
Some Evenings are Bright, 2023, Oil on canvas, 36” x 36”
Blue Rising Over, 2023, Oil on canvas, 36” x 36”
Morning Comes to Evening, 2023, Oil on canvas, 36” x 36”
Violet Bliss, 2023, Oil on canvas, 36” x 36”
Night Loves the Sun, 2023, Oil on canvas, 36” x 36”
Mystery to Explore 1/2 Mystery to Explore 2/2 2023 Oil on canvas 24” x 24” (Each Panel)
Seen & Unseen Light 1/2 Seen & Unseen Light 2/2 2023 Oil on canvas 17” x 17” (Each Panel)
Summer Essence 2023 Acrylic on canvas 64” x 64”
SHINGO FRANCIS Shingo Francis was born in Santa Monica, California in 1969. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Pitzer College in Claremont, and a Master of Arts degree from ArtCenter College of Design, in Pasadena. Francis’ work has been exhibited in Japan, United States, Germany, South Korea, and Switzerland. He has a solo exhibition at the Chigasaki Museum of Art in 2024 and has been included in museum shows at the Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Sezon Museum of Modern Art, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, the Martin Museum of Art, Hermes Art Foundation, and the Frederick R. Weisman Art Foundation. He received the Fumio Nanjo Award in Tokyo. He currently divides his time between Los Angeles and the ancient coastal town of Kamakura, Japan.
WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY Photography: Rob Brander Layout: Rob Brander Portrait by: Kayo Yamawaki
SHINGO FRANCIS Los Angeles, CA / Kamakura, Japan MFA Art Center, Pasadena, CA
SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2024 Exploring Color and Space, Chigasaki City Museum of Art, Chigasaki, Japan (upcoming) 2023 Liminal Presence, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA, USA 2023 Beyond the Threshold, GALERIE PARIS, Kanagawa, Japan 2022 Transparent Reflection, K. Imperial Fine Art, San Francisco, CA, USA 2022 Illuminated Presence, MISA SHIN GALLERY, Tokyo, Japan 2019 Kaleidoscope: moments in time, Sam Francis Gallery at Crossroads School, Santa Monica, CA 2018 PAINTing, LA ARTCORE, Los Angeles, CA 2016 Silent Presence, Space bm, Seoul, South Korea 2015 Helios, Los Angeles International Airport Terminal 3, Los Angeles, CA 2014 Transcendence: a deeper sense of color, Yokohama College of Art and Design, Yokohama, Japan 2013 Kaleidoscope, The Durst Organization Lobby Gallery, New York, NY SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2023 Interference, Le Forum, Ginza Maison Hermès, Tokyo, Japan 2022 Lost in Paradise, Schmalfuss Berlin Contemporary Fine Art, Berlin, Germany 2020 Light | Space, William Turner Gallery, Santa Monica, CA 2019 EMERFENCE: Art and The Incarnation of Space, MARTIN MUSEUM OF ART, Baylor University, Waco,TX 2018 Triennale Grenchen, Grenchen, Switzerland 2018 Layers of Nature: beyond the line, Sezon Museum of Modern Art, Nagano, Japan 2017 Abracadabra of Drawing, Ichihara Lakeside Museum, Chiba, Japan 2014 NIKKEI ART PROJECT, A Moment in Time and Space, NIKKEI Newspaper Headquarters SPACE NIO, Tokyo, Japan 2014 THE MIRROR: Hold the Mirror up to nature, The Mirror, Tokyo, Japan 2013 Metropolis, Galerie Kornfeld, Bern, Switzerland 2012 The Unseen Relationship: Form and Abstraction, Kawamura Memorial DIC Museum of Art, Chiba, Japan SELECTED COLLECTIONS JPMorgan Chase Art Collection Banco de Espana Frederick R. Weiseman Art Foundation The Residence of the U.S. Ambassador in Tokyo Tiffany & Co. Mori Art Collection Sezon Museum of Modern Art Oketa Collection Tokyo American Club Ueshima Collection
WILLIAM TURNER GALLERY