Mark FRANCIS
1962, Ireland

Mark Francis, British (1962 - )

Known for his soft-focus paintings of cellular clusters, Mark Francis has been associated with the ‘Young British Art’ phenomenon while steadily forging his own highly original path. Francis’ work has been collected by numerous public museums - including the Metropolitan Museum, New York, and the Victoria and Albert Museum, London - and has been exhibited in major venues such as London’s Tate Gallery and the Royal Academy.

Collection currently in: British Credit Trust, British Council, London, Caldic Collection, Amsterdam , Chelmsford Borough Council, Contemporary Art Society, London, Deutsche Bank, Germany, Deutsche Morgan Grenfell, London , European Parliament , Goldman Sachs International, London , Government Art Collection, London , Hammersmith & Fulham Education Authority , Heytesbury Holdings , Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin, Lambert Collection, Zürich, Leicester Education Authority, Machida City Museum of Graphic Art, Tokyo , Manchester City Art Gallery , Mead Gallery, Warwick University , Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc, New York , Merrill Lynch International Bank, London, Metropolitan Museum, New York, Nat West Group Art Collection, London , Saatchi Collection, London, Saatchi Collection, London, Simmons & Simmons, London, Southampton City Art Gallery, St. Louis Museum, USA, St. Peter’s College, Oxford, Stanhope Properties PLC, London, Tate Gallery, London, Ulster Museum, Northern Ireland, Unilever PLC, London, Victoria and Albert Museum, London, de Young Memorial Museum, San Francisco
1962 Born Newtownards, Co Down, Northern Ireland
1980-1985 St. Marttin's College of Art London, UK
1985-86 Chelsea School of Art London, UK
1993 Grand Prize: Tokyo International Print Exhibition
1997 Public Art Development Trust: Mark Francis / Nicky Hirst


Exhibitions

2002 Scratch the silence, Whitford Fine Art, London
2001 New Paintings, Galerie Reinhard Hauff, Stuttgart (Solo)
2001 Fluid, Wolverhampton City Art Gallery, Wolverhampton
2001 Galerie Wilma Lock, St. Gallen, Switzerland
2000 Elements, Milton Keynes Gallery London, UK (Solo)
2000 The Wreck of Hope, The Nunnery Gallery London, UK (Solo)
2000 Zero Zero Four Four, Crawford Minicipal Gallery Cork (Solo)
2000 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (Solo)
2000 Maureen Paley Interim Art, London (Solo)
2000 Michael Kohn Gallery, Los Angeles (Solo)
2000 Galerie Wilma Lock, St. Gallen, Switzerland (Solo)
2000 Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris (Solo)
2000 Elements, Milton Keyes Gallery, Milton Keynes (Solo)
2000 Prospects Drawing Prize, Essor Project Space, London
2000 Leopold & Rudolf Blaschka, The Design Museum, London and touring
2000 The Saatchi Gift, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh
2000 Eight New Paintings, Kerlin Gallery, Dublin
2000 The Rowan Collection, Contemporary British & Irish Art, IMMA, Dublin
2000 2000 Shifting Ground: Fifty Years of Irish Art, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
2000 Irish Art Now: From the Poetic to the Political, Chicago Cultural Center, Chicago
2000 Premio Michetti: Europe, different perspectives in painting, Museo Michetti
2000 Francavilla al Mare, Italy
2000 The Wreck of Hope, The Nunnery Gallery, London
2000 London Pride, Whitford Fine Art, London
1999-2000 Irish Art Now: From the Poetic to the Political, McMullen Museum of Art, Boston College Boston, MA
1999 Drei Positionen in der Malerei, Reinhard Hauff Stuttgart, Germany
1999 POSTMARK: An Abstract Effect, Site Santa Fe, New Mexico
1999 Mary Boone Gallery New York, NY
1999 Kohji Ogura Gallery, Nagoya, Japan (Solo)
1999 Galerie Wilma Lock, St. Gallen, Switzerland (Solo)
1999 Mary Boone Gallery, New York (Solo)
1999 drei positionen in der malerei , Reinhard Hauff, Stuttgart, Germany
1999 Negotiating Small Truths,, College of Fine Arts, The University of Texas, Austin
1999 The Great Drawing Show, 1550 - 1999, Kohn Turner Gallery, Los Angeles
1999 A Quiet Storm: Painting in Abstraction, Kohn Turner Gallery, Los Angeles
1999 Macro -Micro, contemporary Painters Negotiate Samll Truths
1999 University of Texas (Blanton Museum of Art)
1999 Zero Zero Four Four, PS.1, New York and Albright -Knox Art Gallery, Buffalo
1999 Postmark: An Abstract Effect, SITE Santa Fe, New Mexico
1999 Only in dreams, Whitford Fine Art, London
1998 Maureen Paley/Interim Art London, UK
1998 Kohn Turner Gallery Los Angeles, CA
1998 Post Naturam - nach der Natur,Stadt Munster Germany
1998 Sensation - Saatchi Collection, Museum fur Gegenwart Berlin
1998 Galleria Emilio Mazzoli Modena, Italy
1998 Kohn Turner Gallery, Los Angeles (Solo)
1998 Galerie Anne de Villepoix, Paris (Solo)
1998 post Naturam - nach der Natur, Stadt Münster, Germany
1997 Kerlin Gallery Dublin, UK
1997 Galerie Anne de Villepoix Paris, France
1997 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (Solo)
1997 Mary Boone Gallery, New York (Solo)
1997 Galerie Martina Detterer, Frankfurt, Germany (Solo)
1997 Interior, Maureen Paley / Interim Art, London
1997 Surface, GOW Langsford, Auckland, New Zealand
1997 Sensations - Saatchi Collection, Royal Academy of Art, London
1997 Beau Geste, Angles Gallery, Los Angeles
1997 Residue, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin
1997 Nat West Painting Prize, London
1996 Terra Nova - New Territories, Harewood House Leeds, UK
1996 Terra Nova - New Territories, Harewood House, Leeds (Solo)
1996 Anne de Villepoix, Paris (Solo)
1996 Bloom Gallery, Amsterdam (Solo)
1996 Absolut Vision, New British Painting in the 1990's, M.O.M.A., Oxford
1996 Scattering Matrix, curated by Jane Hart, Richard Heller Gallery, Santa Monica
1996 Black, Grey & White, Galerie Bugdahn und Kaimer, Düsseldorf
1996 British Abstract Art III, Flowers East Gallery, London
1996 Whitechapel Open, London
1996 Mary Boone Gallery (Mark Francis, Leonardo Drew, Oliver Herring), New York
1996 IMMA / Glen Dimplex Artists Award, Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin
1995 Testing the Water, Tate Gallery, Liverpool
1995 Voyage Anglais, Rheimes, France
1995 From Here, Karsten Schubert / Waddington Galleries,
1995 Painters' Opinion, Bloom Gallery, Amsterdam
1995 The Adventure of Painting, Kunstvereins Düsseldorf & Stuttgart, Germany
1995 Kerlin Gallery, Dublin (Solo)
1995 Galerie Thieme & Pohl, Darmstadt, Germany (Solo)
1995 Maureen Paley/Interim Art, London (Solo)
1995 City Art Gallery, Manchester (Solo)
1994 Maureen Paley/Interim Art, London
1994 Human Nature, Mark Francis & Brad Lochore, Herve Mikaeloff, Paris
1994 The Curators Egg, Anthony Reynolds Gallery, London
1994 New Modern British Paintings (1988 - 1994), Richard Salmon Ltd. London
1994 East 1994, Norfolk Institute of Art & Design, Norwich
1994 Paintmarks, Kettle's Yard, Cambridge
1994 Unveiled, Cornerhouse, Manchester
1994 Europa 94, Munich Order Centre, Munich
1993 Recent Acquisitions, Tate Gallery, London
1993 An Undiscovered Country; 10 Abstract Painters, curated by Charles Hall, Rebecca Hossack Gallery, London
1993 Ikon Touring Exhibition
1993 Snap Shots, Curated by Anthony Wilkinson, Eagle Gallery, London
1993 A Decade of Collecting, Tate Gallery, London
1993 International Print Exhibition, Tokyo, Japan
1992 Whitechapel Open, London
1992 South Bank Show, Royal Festival Hall, London
1992 British Art Comes to St Helena, St Helena (selected by Mary Rose Beaumont)
1992 Jill George Gallery, London
1990 Thumb Gallery, London (Solo)
1990 Four Painters, New Academy Gallery, London
1990 Bonhams Contemporary Auction, London
1990 Whitechapel Open, London
1989 Christie's New Contemporaries, Royal College of Art, London
1986 4 New Painters, Paton Gallery, London
1986 ILEA Class of 86', Royal Festival Hall, London
1986 On the Wall Gallery, Belfast
1985 Another View of Ireland, Irish Artists in London
1985 Athena International Awards, Mall Galleries, London
1985 Riverside Open, Riverside Studios, London
1984 Stowells Trophy, Royal Academy of Arts, London
1984 Summer Group Show, Tom Caldwell Gallery, Belfast
1983 Summer Show, Tom Caldwell Gallery, Dublin
1983 New Contemporaries, The Mall Gallery, London


Literature

2002 The Saatchi Gift, Scotland on Sunday, 13 January
2002 Cowan, Amber. The Saatchi Gift, The Times, 19 January
2001 Notate, biomorph: Mark Francisbei Hauff, Frankfurther Allgemeine Zeitung, 02 June
2001 Achterbahn, Francis in der Galerie Hauff, Stuttgarter Zeitung, 23 May
2001 Malerei als kartografisches System, Stuttgarter Nachrichten, 24 April
2000 Daly, Catherine. Mark Francis, The Sunday Times (Irish Edition), 31 December
2000 Dunne, Aiden. Mark Francis, The Irish Times, 29 November
2000 Mark Francis, Netter Art Collection, publ. George Theime Verlag, MacGiolla Léith, Caoimhín. Soundings: The Paintings of Mark Francis, Irish Arts Review, Yearbook 2001, Vol.17
2000 Wood, Catherine. Reflecting on his work: the artist Mark Francis, The Lancet, Vol 356, 05 August
2000 Staff Brandl, Mark. Mark Francis at MKG, Art in America, July
2000 Coomer, Martin. Time Out, 06 July - 13 July
2000 Herbert, Martin. Mark Francis, Interim Art, Time Out, 28 June – 05 July
2000 Aidin, Rose. Painting by numbers, The Times
2000 Young, Robin & Morgan, Jonathon. Broad canvas for a new face of Tate Britain, The Times, 24 March
2000 Robson, David. Now the Brit pack get a gallery all to themselves, The Express,
2000 Lubbock , Tom. Behind the scenes at the museum, The Independent, 18 January
2000 Clark, Robert. Home thoughts from abroad, The Guardian Guide, 12 – 18 February
2000 Dunne, Aiden. No national identity, please. We’re Irish, The Irish Times,
2000 Darwent, Charles. Anatomy of an obsessive, The Independent on Sunday, 23 January
1999 Johnson , Ken. Mark Francis , The New York Times, 12 March
1999 Burton, Jane. Cluttered to Perfection
1999 The Independent on Sunday Magazine, 28 February
1999 Badrutt Schoch, Ursula. Pulsieren in Zeitlupe, St. Galler-Tagblatt/Kultur,09 April
1999 Fulcher, Dawn. Previews: 0044, Contemporary Visual Arts, Issue 23
1998 Buck, Louisa. A Brush with Tradition, Joyce, No. 41, Spring
1998 Ollman, Leah, 'Review: Seductive Dots,' Los Angeles Times,
1998 Henke, Barbara M. Spontaneität und Controlle, Haudelsblatt, Kunstmarkt, 6 January
1998 Reynolds, Nigel. NatWest sells Old Masters to buy modern British art,
1998 Mark Francis, Journal Frankfurt, Kunst, December January
1997 Crüwell, Konstanze. Den Betrachter auf Distanz halten, IAS, 27 December
1997 Mark Francis, Schwarz und rund, Frankfurter Rundschau, 27 December
1997 Hubbard, Sue. Interior, Time Out, N† 1421, 12-19 November
1997 Beccaria, Gabriele. Voglio uffici come musei, La Stampa, 12 October
1997 Dunne, Aiden. Confessions of a gallery curator, The Sunday Tribune, 31 August
1997 Fallon, Brian. Residue, The Irish Times, 29 August
1997 Hilton, Tim, Nat West Prize, The Independent on Sunday, 25 May
1997 Packe, Bill, Nat West Prize, Financial Times, 20 May
1997 Cross, Andrew, Letter from New York, Art Monthly, N† 203, Feb. P. 7-10
1997 Gluek, Grace, Mary Boone Gallery, The New York Times, 31 January, p.C28
1997 Reynolds, Nigel, Blair goes abstract but avoids dead cows, The Daily Telegraph, 9 October
1997 Glaister, Dan. New man at the ministry shows his true colours in art, The Guardian, 9 October
1997 Lubbock, Tom. Who are they pointing at, Indepenent/EYE,September 18
1997 Mary Boone Gallery, The New Yorker, 3 February
1996 Purcell, Charles, Cityline Magazine, April issue
1996 Fallon, Brian, Prizefight, The Irish Times, 5 April
1996 Wilson, Andrew, The Vision Thing, Art Monthly
1996 Graham Dixon, Andrew, On the Surface, The Independent
1996 Searle, Adrian, The Best of Brit Painting, The Guardian
1996 Fever, William, Crooked Style, The Observer
1996 The IMMA / Glen Dimplex Award, The Sunday Times, 12 May
1996 Ferguson, Ciara, The Sunday Independent, 21 April
1996 Ruane, Medb, IMMA Dimplex, The Sunday Times, 31 March
1996 IMMA Dimplex, Phoenix Magazine, 29 March
1996 Mac Gioccoa Leth, Caoimhin, IMMA Dimplex, Dublin Magazine, 28 March
1996 Dunne, Aldan, Prize show lacks winners, The Tribune Magazine, 24 March
1996 Dunne, Aldan, Critics Choice, The Sunday Tribune, 17 March
1996 Arts Diary, The Evening Herald, 14 March
1996 Gallery Glance, Dublin Event Guide, 7 March
1995 Fallon, Brian, Rewind 95', The Irish Times, 28 December
1995 Carr, Mary, The Evening Herald, 21 December
1995 Turn on the Dimplex, The Irish Times, 14 December
1995 Myers, Kevin, An Irishman's Diary, The Irish Times, 14 December
1995 Five in line for top art prize, The Evening Herald, 12 December
1995 Art Prize Shortlist Published, The Irish Times, 12 December
1995 Clancy, Luke, Temple, or bar ?, The Irish Times, 28 Dec
1995 Hilton, Tim, Who needs London ?, The Independent on Sunday, 5 Nov
1995 Clancy, Luke, Kerlin Gallery, The Irish Times, 31 Oct
1995 Ruane, Medb, Kerlin Gallery, The Sunday Times, 29 Oct
1995 Gale, Iain, '…on exhibitions', The Independent, 27 Oct
1995 Gallery Glance, Dublin Event Guide, 20 December
1995 Gallery Glance, Dublin Event Guide, 20 December
1995 IMMA / Glen Dimplex Award Shortlist, The Sunday Times, 17 December
1995 Manchester City Art Gallery, City Life
1995 Coomer, Martin, Interim Art, Time Out
1995 Morley, Simon, Interim Art, Art Monthly, N† 187, June, P.34 - 35
1995 Henri, Adrian, Compendium of Coolness, Liverpool Daily Post, 26 Oct
1995 Durden, Mark, Manchester City Art Gallery, Frieze, issue 22, May, P.62 - 63
1995 Haynes, Rob, Manchester City Art Gallery, The Big Issue
1995 Human Nature, Darmstädter Kulturnachrichten, 5 Aug
1995 Adventure of Painting, Rheinische Post
1995 Wiliams, Sophia, Adventure of Painting, Westdeutsche Zeitung
1995 Craddock, Sacha, Around the Galleries / Interim Art , The Times, May
1995 Archer, Michael, Waddingtons / Karsten Schubert, Art Monthly, N† 186, May, P.8 - 10
1995 Rainer, Wolfgang, Adventure of Paintings, Stuttgarter Zeitung
1995 Human Nature, Fritz, N†6
1995 Galerie Thieme + Pohl ; Mark Francis, Lebendiges Darmstadt, June
1995 Held, Roland, Aufmarsch schwarzer Punkte, Darmstädter Echo, 20 June
1995 Neue Kunstausstellungen, Darmstädter Echo, 25 May
1995 Wama, Suto, Painters opinion, De Volkskrant
1995 The Midlands & North West Reviews, Art Review, December January
1994 Mark Francis / Brad Lochore, Arts & Expos, Paris
1994 Arts & Expos, Libération/Guide, 7 October
1994 Lillington, David, Interim Art, Time Out, N†1237, May, P.40
1994 Durden, Mark, East, Art Monthly
1994 The Curators Egg, Summer: Untitled N†. 5
1994 Hall, Charles, The Richter Scale, Arts Review
1994 Godfrey, Tony, Life in Venice, Untitled N†. 3
1994 Cork, Richard, Whitechapel Open, The Times
1993 Lillington, David, review, Time Out
1990 Hall, Charles, Pick of the Week, The Guardian
1989 Cork, Richard, New Art Goes Under the Hammer, The Telegraph
1986 Brunskill, Ian, Four New Painters at Paton, Artscribe N†. 58

Source: http://rogallery.com/Francis_Mark/francis-biography.html