Augustus Francis
About Augustus Francis
“Abstraction fulfills an internal need and a desire for colour. The canvas provides a full void upon which to place liquid form suspended in space, somewhere between colour field painting and gestural abstraction.”
— Augustus Francis
The British American painter, Augustus Francis, is known for his colorful, abstract oil and mixed media paintings on large canvases. Born in Los Angeles, he currently lives and works in New York.
Rooted in a legacy of abstraction yet guided by an individual vision, Augustus Francis’s work explores the emotive and spatial capacities of paint. Through deliberate use of color and form, his paintings invoke a sense of rhythm and energy, engaging viewers in a meditative experience. His practice continues to evolve across locations and contexts, reaffirming his place within a dynamic lineage of abstract art.
Francis pursued formal training in fine art at Leeds Metropolitan University, earning his BA in 2009. In 2011, Francis completed an internship at the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice, Italy. He has exhibited extensively in the United States and Europe in solo and group presentations at major art fairs such as Art Miami, EXPO Chicago, and Intersect Palm Springs. Additional exhibitions have taken place at Sager Contemporary in London, American Contemporary Art Gallery in Munich, Leonard Hutton Galleries in New York, and Nymphenburg Palace in Germany. These international showings underscore the growing recognition of his distinctive contribution to contemporary painting.
Francis's interest in the sensory experience of color, sensitivity to natural light, and gestural mark-making are qualities that continue to distinguish his use and choice of materials. Embracing the contradictions and dualities inherent to his practice, the artist states “These polemic states of matter — the fluidity of paint, the solidity of wax, and the powdered pigment — are opposing poles within my abstract language, creating a push and pull."
Augustus Francis is also represented by ACA in New York City.