JUNE 2022: Featured Artist
Artist Uses Innovative Approaches to Create Diverse Works
Multidisciplinary Artist
Franc Palaia
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Franc Poses with His Fresco "Self Portrait Painting a Self Portrait"
Paint, Dry Plaster, Collage, Spray, Wood & Gravel on Polystyrene ~ 54 x 38 x 8 in. Photo Credit: Penny Dell |
Franc Palaia is a New York-based, multidisciplinary artist working in
photography, public art, painting, murals and sculpture. He is also an independent curator and musician. Franc has been included in over 300 group shows and 45 solo shows, regionally, nationally and internationally. Grants include the Rome Prize Fellowship, two Polaroid Sponsorships, an L. C. Tiffany grant, a Puffin Grant, and two NYFA grants. Exhibitions include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NY, Whitney Museum of American Art annex, LA MoCA , OK Harris gallery, PS1, New Museum, ACA Galleries, NY, Saatchi Museum and Woodbury House, London, Fundacio Salvador Dali-Gala in Spain, the Velan Arte Contemporanea in Turin, Italy, The American Academy in Rome, and others. His artworks are included in the permanent collections of Museum of Modern Art, Newark and Brooklyn Museums and the New Jersey State Museum. He has painted over 40 indoor and outdoor murals, some of which appeared on WNBC TV, Time Warner Cable TV, and the Discovery Channel. His “Columbus Drive Mural” in Jersey City was the biggest mural in the United States in 1997. It measured 350’ x 60’. His photographs have appeared in film documentaries, such as Shadowman (about street artist, Richard Hambleton) and Boom for Real (about Jean-Michel Basquiat). He has worked with and assisted well-known artists, including Annie Liebovitz, Billy Name, Robert Wilson, Salvador Dali, and others. Franc was a producer and host of Arts Focus, a half -hour interview program on Time Warner Cable Television in the Hudson Valley from 2007-2011. He created background (stand in) film work in an upcoming HBO series called, “White House Plumbers,” a series starring Woody Harrelson about the Watergate scandal. Franc is also a professional musician/percussionist performing at dozens of New York City music clubs, such as CBGB’s and Danceteria. |
Franc discusses the challenges of large-scale mural work, the inspiration behind his illuminated photo series, and common themes throughout his work.
Garden Street Mural
Poughkeepsie, NY © Franc Palaia |
Two Bridges Mural
Water Street ~ Poughkeepsie, NY © Franc Palaia |
Please describe the planning that goes into a large, public mural project.
The planning stage of large, outdoor murals is sometimes more difficult and complicated than actually painting the mural. Many times, the painting is the easy part. Difficult hurdles can include logistics, budget, design, timing with the weather, permit applications taking months to process, etc. So, I start planning murals in the winter. By the time spring and summer arrives, my mural is ready to go. The planning process can be excruciating with fussy customers being indecisive as to what the image will be, the haggling over the price, the condition of the given wall, etc. However, when all the pieces fit and the mural is finished, it is very gratifying.
The planning stage of large, outdoor murals is sometimes more difficult and complicated than actually painting the mural. Many times, the painting is the easy part. Difficult hurdles can include logistics, budget, design, timing with the weather, permit applications taking months to process, etc. So, I start planning murals in the winter. By the time spring and summer arrives, my mural is ready to go. The planning process can be excruciating with fussy customers being indecisive as to what the image will be, the haggling over the price, the condition of the given wall, etc. However, when all the pieces fit and the mural is finished, it is very gratifying.
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Franc Working on Historic Hyde Park Mural
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How do you reach all areas of a large-scale mural?
You have to think about the logistics of using either a boom lift, cherry picker or scissor lift. No one uses scaffolding anymore. This is because it's too cumbersome and dangerous, and it requires more work to assemble than the work required to paint the mural. What mediums/techniques do you use for your murals? My medium is usually a combination of exterior latex house paint, sign paint and acrylic – all water bases because I don't like dealing with toxic solvents. |
Historic Hyde Park Mural
Hyde Park, NY
© Franc Palaia
Hyde Park, NY
© Franc Palaia
Italian Heritage Mural
Poughkeepsie's Little Italy © Franc Palaia |
Ice House Mural
View of the Poughkeepsie Harbor in 1888 while the Poughkeepsie Railroad Bridge was Being Constructed* © Franc Palaia *In 1974, the railroad tracks were destroyed by a fire. The bridge was rebuilt and reopened in October 2009 as the Walkway Over the Hudson, now part of the Hudson Valley Rail Trail Network. |
Much of your mixed media wall art blends contemporary with an old-world theme. What do you hope this contrast elicits?
I like to utilize contemporary images, often contrasting them with antiquity. The juxtaposition lends itself to reflection of current events and ancient times. Things haven't changed very much. For example, we see erotic graffiti in spray paint on urban walls these days; in Pompeii, you can see the same types of images created in fresco painting.
I like to utilize contemporary images, often contrasting them with antiquity. The juxtaposition lends itself to reflection of current events and ancient times. Things haven't changed very much. For example, we see erotic graffiti in spray paint on urban walls these days; in Pompeii, you can see the same types of images created in fresco painting.
Soccer Player
Color Photographs, Mixed Media on Polystyrene ~ 66 x 50 x 6 inches © Franc Palaia |
Jersey Central
Color Photograph, Paint, Faux Cement on Polystyrene ~ 4 x 4 feet © Franc Palaia 
Franc in the Studio
© Franc Palaia Photo Credit: Penny Dell |
What was the inspiration behind your illuminated photo sculptures?
The inspiration behind my illuminated photo sculptures came from wanting to make photographic lightboxes, but the boxes are extremely expensive. I was frustrated because I wanted to make illuminated artworks but could not afford the high costs of the metal boxes. One day, I was looking at an old suitcase in my studio, and – literally – a light bulb went off over my head! I realized I didn’t have to use expensive metal light boxes. I just needed a container with volume that could be cut to insert a photo transparency and install a lightbulb inside. Presto! I have a light box.
I was inspired to create different illuminated sculptures after creating the lightbox with the suitcase. I created hundreds of illuminated photo sculptures out of a variety of objects – mostly found and recycled domestic and industrial objects, such as crates, trunks, paper shopping bags, lamps, mirrors, cabinets, toys, furniture, car parts, small appliances, air ducts, etc. The final piece in the series is an illuminated solar photo car where I inserted large color transparencies covering all the car windows, I put solar panels on the roof and hood and it became a large, drivable, rolling lightbox.
The inspiration behind my illuminated photo sculptures came from wanting to make photographic lightboxes, but the boxes are extremely expensive. I was frustrated because I wanted to make illuminated artworks but could not afford the high costs of the metal boxes. One day, I was looking at an old suitcase in my studio, and – literally – a light bulb went off over my head! I realized I didn’t have to use expensive metal light boxes. I just needed a container with volume that could be cut to insert a photo transparency and install a lightbulb inside. Presto! I have a light box.
I was inspired to create different illuminated sculptures after creating the lightbox with the suitcase. I created hundreds of illuminated photo sculptures out of a variety of objects – mostly found and recycled domestic and industrial objects, such as crates, trunks, paper shopping bags, lamps, mirrors, cabinets, toys, furniture, car parts, small appliances, air ducts, etc. The final piece in the series is an illuminated solar photo car where I inserted large color transparencies covering all the car windows, I put solar panels on the roof and hood and it became a large, drivable, rolling lightbox.
Leaning Tower of Suitcases
Suitcases, Lights, Duratrans ~ 80 x 24 x 10 inches © Franc Palaia |
Homage to My Parents
Leather Suitcase, Light, Duratrans ~ 4 x 30 x 12 inches © Franc Palaia What do you hope the viewer takes away from your illuminated photo sculptures?
I wanted to present photography in a totally new and different way. I wanted the illuminated images to be a surprise for the viewer – something the viewer has never seen before. I wanted the pieces to be enticing, odd, provocative, intriguing, mysterious, humorous and political. |
Travel is a theme through much of your work.
I love to travel and document everything I see with photography. I enjoy taking photos of art created on urban walls, such as graffiti, street art, murals, signs, stickers, posters, billboards, etc. I like the energy, humor, politics, the many layers of color, texture, random accidents and the cacophony of lettering styles and images.
I reconfigure the images into original compositions and produce color, archival photographs. I work with them on substrates, such as plywood, cement board, Sheetrock and polystyrene. I add paint, found objects, wood, gravel, faux cement, spray, collage and pastels. Basically, I recreate the walls. These wall works include four mediums: photography, painting, sculpture – even architecture because some of them are quite large, up to 16 feet. They look extremely heavy but are featherlight, weighing only a few pounds when they seem to be several hundred pounds.
Is there a specific country that you have drawn a lot of inspiration from?
I have an affinity to Italy. I am Italian American – conceived in Italy and born in the U.S. My immediate family members are immigrants. I won the Rome Prize fellowship which allowed me to live at the American Academy in Rome for one year to produce new works. I met my wife, Eve D’Ambra, who was another Italian American Rome Prize recipient at the Academy. She is an art historian, and we were married in Rome at the end of our fellowship year. My wife, a professor at Vassar College, and I have been to Italy at least 20 times over the last 36 years.
I love to travel and document everything I see with photography. I enjoy taking photos of art created on urban walls, such as graffiti, street art, murals, signs, stickers, posters, billboards, etc. I like the energy, humor, politics, the many layers of color, texture, random accidents and the cacophony of lettering styles and images.
I reconfigure the images into original compositions and produce color, archival photographs. I work with them on substrates, such as plywood, cement board, Sheetrock and polystyrene. I add paint, found objects, wood, gravel, faux cement, spray, collage and pastels. Basically, I recreate the walls. These wall works include four mediums: photography, painting, sculpture – even architecture because some of them are quite large, up to 16 feet. They look extremely heavy but are featherlight, weighing only a few pounds when they seem to be several hundred pounds.
Is there a specific country that you have drawn a lot of inspiration from?
I have an affinity to Italy. I am Italian American – conceived in Italy and born in the U.S. My immediate family members are immigrants. I won the Rome Prize fellowship which allowed me to live at the American Academy in Rome for one year to produce new works. I met my wife, Eve D’Ambra, who was another Italian American Rome Prize recipient at the Academy. She is an art historian, and we were married in Rome at the end of our fellowship year. My wife, a professor at Vassar College, and I have been to Italy at least 20 times over the last 36 years.
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Group Exhibition through June 24:
"Future Myth" Anderson Contemporary 180 Maiden Lane New York, NY Public Gallery hours: Monday through Saturday: 8am - 10pm Sunday: 10am-7pm |
Partial Installation View of Franc's Show
at Hudson Beach Glass Gallery |
