Francesco Clemente

About Francesco Clemente

Francesco Clemente (born in Naples, 23 March 1952) is an Italian painter.

His work shows both surrealist and expressionist references. He was self taught and studied architecture in 1970 at the University of Rome. He did some paintings in collaboration with Andy Warhol and Jean-Michel Basquiat in the 1980s. Since 1982, he has spent his time between Italy, New York City and Madras (now Chennai) in India, where he collaborates with local artists. In 1986, he created the Hanuman Books series with Raymond Foye which is a collection of 48 miniature handmade books featuring American and European poets and philosophers, edited by George Scrivani and printed in Madras. Clemente is a member of American Academy of Arts and Letters. He still regularly works in India and lives in New York with his wife Alba and their four children.

After an early academic background in classical languages and literature, Clemente briefly enrolled as an architectural student at the University of Rome (in 1970). Through out the 1970s he exhibited drawings, altered photographs and conceptual works, mostly in Turin, Amsterdam and Cologne. He first travelled to India in 1973 and the following year trekked through Afghanistan with mentor and fellow artistic Alighiero Boetti. Clemente returned to India with his wife Alba in 1977, and for a period of two years lived and worked in Madras, where he made drawings, pastels and hand-made books. In 1980, Clemente's work was included in the Venice Biennale.