Ontem
Artist name
Artist year born
1947
Artwork make date
1990-1993
Artwork title translation
Yesterday
Artwork material
oil
canvas
canvas
Artwork dimensions
height: 80cm
width: 90cm
width: 90cm
Artwork type (categories)
Painting
Accession method
Donated by Martin Green 1994
Accession number
20-1994
Label text
Ontem, like Memória, belongs to a body of abstract works that Franco produced from the late 1980s to the early 90s. In a monograph on the artist, Dawn Ades has observed that these works appear to be the result of 'spontaneous and undirected processes' and Franco has in fact produced videos of himself working in this way: painting very quickly, totally absorbed in the process and constantly transforming the canvas. Although apparently random in execution, these paintings are often preceded by a long process of thinking, sketching and planning within which Franco draws inspiration from sources such as newspaper articles and television reports as well as personal experiences. Thus, as Ades describes it, Franco's creative process involves 'cannibalizing images of all kinds' and producing works that are always an 'active and critical response' to these stimuli. Franco sometimes cannibalizes his own work by returning to and reworking paintings. Started in 1990 and finished in 1993, Ontem is an example of this process.
References
Dawn Ades. Siron Franco: Figures and Likenesses, Paintings 1968-1995. Rio de Janeiro, Editora Index, 1995
Joanne Harwood
References
Dawn Ades. Siron Franco: Figures and Likenesses, Paintings 1968-1995. Rio de Janeiro, Editora Index, 1995
Joanne Harwood
Last updated date
2008