Francesco De Grandi

Born in Palermo in 1968. Lives in Palermo.

Francesco De Grandi's painting looks at the most ambiguous and decadent aspects of reality, which he transforms in surprising ways by framing his images as though they had been shot for film and by grafting an extraordinary imagination inspired by various sources, including classical literature, radical science fiction, illustration, the history of painting, and independent film, onto the reality they describe. Leaden skies and an end-of-the-world atmosphere create a background for spaced-out figures, mutant creatures, poisoned nature, melancholic and dark landscapes: a bizarre fantasy, loaded of uneasy presences, painted with masterly technique. The objective strength of this representation is used as a tool for social criticism and philosophical speculation, which is not devoid of irony.De Grandi's most recent works depict natural settings painted with a fairly restricted, almost monochrome palette and faster, more liquid brushstrokes. These works are characterized by a stagnant, putrescent atmosphere from which every human trace seems to have vanished.