Personal turns into abstract in Indian-origin Argentinian painter's works

Abstract art by Thomas Francis, whose art practice started while tending to his daughter at home, is currently on view at the India International Centre (IIC) here.

"The Journey", an exhibition of 44 of his acrylic and oil canvases, is open till December 28.

The 52-year-old Indian-origin Argentinian artist, who "cannot draw a face", took to abstract art in 2005 when he was at home tending to his daughter all day.

"My wife is a diplomat. So, when when we were in Denmark, she used to go to work every day. I was taking care of our young daughter. One day I passed by an art shop, picked up brushes, a canvas and oil paints, since all big painters painted in oil," Francis told IANS.

His wife Georgina Fernandez Destefano is the Minister and Deputy Chief of Mission at the Argentinian embassy here.

What he created first was a strictly abstract work with the use of straight lines and pure colours.

Telling stories through lines and blocks of colour, along with his signature purple band on the top, Francis' paintings are repositories of stories drawn from his personal space.

His work "Single Woman", done almost a decade ago, shows a female figure with geometric proportions looking at thorny hurdles, waiting to leap to the other side.

The work, he said, draws inspiration from independent women around him, including his wife.

Another work, "War", depicts Egypt's 2011 Arab Spring.

"When you opened (turned on) the TV, all you saw was blood, blood everywhere. The work shows a lone soldier against a red backdrop, heading towards the mosque to find some peace," the 52-year-old artist explained.

A limited series of his paintings also commemorate the 200th year of Argentina's independence in 2016.

Francis has previously exhibited in several gallery spaces in Copenhagen, Buenos Aires, New Delhi and Mumbai. After living in Dubai, Hong Kong, Buenos Aires and Copenhagen, he has been in India since 2013.

--IANS

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