Franko B shares his unique perspective at Tom of Finland Art and Culture Festival

As part of the Shadow-Ban exhibition, SHOWstudio teamed up with Tom of Finland Foundation and hosted a series of powerful talks, creating a platform for boundary-pushing dialogue, which celebrated the spirit of artistic freedom, inclusivity, and the exploration of identity.

FRANKO B IN CONVERSATION WITH HETTY MAHLICH

The Italian performance artist, who has lived in London since 1979, sat down for a live conversation at SHOWstudio as part of the Art & Culture Festival, London. Franko B joins editor Hetty Mahlich in conversation to discuss his practice as a response to his upbringing as an orphan, being a Gay man during the AIDs epidemic and the political landscape today.

Franko B (1960) was born in Milan and moved to London in 1979. His practice spans drawing, installation, performance and sculpture.

A pioneer of body art and a leading performance artist and activist, Franko B uses his body as a tool to explore the themes of the personal, political, poetic, resistance, suffering and the reminder of our own mortality and vulnerability.

Franko B lives and works in London and is a professor of Sculpture at L’Accademia Albertina Di Belle Arti di Torino, Italy.

He has presented work internationally at: Tate Modern; ICA (London); South London Gallery; Arnolfini (Bristol); Palais des Beaux-Arts (Brussels); Beaconsfield Contemporary Art (London); Bluecoat Museum (Liverpool); Tate Liverpool; Ruarts Foundation (Moscow); PAC (Milian); Contemporary Art Centre (Copenhagen) and many more.

His works are in the collections of the Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum, South London Gallery, the permanent collection of the city of Milan and a/political, London, and his archives are held at The University of Bristol Theatre Collection and The LGBTQIA+ Archives at Bishopsgate Institute, London.

Published: 1st November 2024

Categorised in: Events, ONLINE