Mark Francis is a visual artist from Northern Ireland who now lives and works in London. Mark produces abstract works with monothematic patterns and bold colours which have been exhibited internationally and included in collections across Ireland, the UK and the US.
Mark’s work is largely influenced by patterns invisible to the naked eye which are only made visible through scientific and technological advancements. His latest exhibition ‘Re-Sound’ is made up of new graphic work based off paintings he produced in 1990s which focused on his study of oscillograms and the visualisation of sound and vibration.
‘Re-Sound’ is the artist’s first solo exhibition of graphic work in Ireland and comprises of 20 artworks produced between 2019 – 2020 including etchings, lithographs, silkscreen prints, and intaglio prints, and using materials such as photopolymer and carborundum.
The exhibition is also accompanied by ‘In Heidelberg’, an essay by Colm Tóibín which explores the notion of visually capturing the invisible and refers to works produced by Mark Francis.
Who is to say that a flat canvas with marks on it might not be a portrait of sound? The amount of vivid life the artist had captured in the printing process... Mark Francis's prints were poetic, mysterious, but also rigorous and precise. Some work took its bearings from musical notation or a graph of sound from a recording studio, but other work seemed to explore the very essence of atoms and the inner shape of dark matter. The prints spelled nothing out. What mattered in each work was its own dynamic, its own dense inner life. 'In Heidelberg', Colm Tóibín
‘Re-Sound’ is running from 29 August – 3 October 2020 at Graphic Studio Gallery. To see more of Mark’s work visit his website and Instagram.