Artifacts: Francesco Clemente

Born in Naples, Italy in 1952, Francesco Clemente grew up during a period of social and political instability in his country. Clemente wrote poetry and painted as a child. He briefly studied architecture at the University of Rome in 1970, but soon turned to art, displaying his works at his first solo exhibition at the Galleria Valle Giulia in Rome the next year. Clemente first visited India in 1973, where he has returned frequently to collaborate with various Indian artists. Clemente's wife, Alba Primiceri, was an Italian actress whose image often appears in Clemente's work. The two moved to New York City in 1981, where they currently reside. In New York, Clemente has collaborated with artists such as Basquiat and Warhol. He has also created illustrations in literary collaborations.

Clemente has explored a wide range of mediums including drawings, prints, oil paintings, wax frescos, murals, sculptures, and more. Clemente is intrigued by the art of palimpsest, in which the text on a page of manuscript has been partially scraped/washed off for reuse.

Much of Clemente's work reflects his interest in Hindu spiritual life and other non-European cultures. Clemente is known as an iconographer, making use of symbols and traditional images in his work. His art is often centered around mythology, spirituality, life/death and sexuality.