Studio visit (2012)
Artists’ studios are often situated in unlikely places.
Conjuring the ghosts of elegant ladies dressed for a chilly evening on the town, Franck Léonard’s atelier is in former fur storage warehouse just outside Paris in Montreuil.
On this visit, Léonard treated us to selections from his oeuvre, curated to reveal his artistic progression and narrative themes.
From 2007, we enjoyed elegantly executed juxtapositions of sport stadium and abstract forms from his alphabetically-titled series. Figures of authority make an appearance in this series too, such as storm-trooper like riot police in on a sports field. Léonard is often concerned with the intrusion of the state apparatus into our modern lives, and it shows. Surveillance cameras crop up like weeds in his work.
From 2009 we were captivated by the detail and depth in his works return on investment and national expenses. Motifs are layered; the works reveal more and more with repeated viewing. Look for familiar logos, empty speech bubbles, architectural themes and explosions.
Moving into his present-day work, we could see the influence of architecture and a commentary on how space is used to attract and reward consumerism.
Exhibition review (2014)
2096/ FORTUNE IS BEHIND US
We are delighted to be able to invite you to a show we've had the privilege of curating, at in the 9th arrondissement.
In this show Léonard sets the scene in a not-so-distant future, 2096. You're invited to enter the world of 12 anthropologists who have spent years combing the world's oceans for evidence as to the economic and sociological pressures that lead to a global conflict in the year 2060. They present their evidence in the form of objects and drawings, before disappearing mysteriously near the island Fangataufa, in French Polynesia. Interestingly, this was originally the site of France's first two-stage thermonuclear test, code named Canopus, detonated on August 24, 1968.
Exhibition from October 24th to December 20th
Thierry Poubeau Showroom 22, rue Milton 75009 Paris
More about Franck Léonard
Franck Léonard first came to attention in the early 2000s with his spectacular, large-format drawings. They’re intricate illustrations beautifully rendered in crayons de couleur, encompassing themes relevant to contemporary society, such as violence in popular media, surveillance, data transmission, game theory, and nationalism.
Now Franck Léonard turns his attention to the future, with a series of works entitled “2096/La Fortune est derrière,” in which he adopts an anthropological vision, reflecting on human economic and social activity of the bygone era prior to an intercontinental conflict circa 2060. This body of work -- the anthropological evidence unearthed by future researchers -- comprises documents, drawings and objects.
Léonard is the rare breed of contemporary artist who avoids the limelight while perfecting his craft. He is more interested in cultivating the skills of his many students than putting his work in the public eye.
Franck Léonard (b. 1973) lives and works in Montreuil. A visual artist since 2000, he graduated from the Ecole Nationale Superieure des Beaux-Arts in Paris, and has taught drawing in two schools in Paris.
His work takes on a documentary and fictional narrative, and includes technical forms (architectural models), with drawing comprising the major part of his work. He has participated in projects such as multimedia WW group and rock band Vitaphone.