Keven Francis

The art practice of Keven Francis engages with reflection and transition, as a contemplative space of negotiation, a separate state of in-betweenness. It is informed during time spent working in regional Australia as an artists and manager and in cross-cultural arenas where negotiation and the transformation are essential components of sustainability.

A focus of his practice is the concept that during transition and negotiation elements are in a state of flux, which creates experiences and reflections that are unique to the period of transition itself rather than its before and after. When transition is engaged with, and its unstable aspects put aside, it can be observed as a meditative dimension of understanding.

The scorched works evolved from the tactility and sensuality of materials, and the spontaneity and risk associated with the transformational qualities of fire. The transition of carbon edges created on pit-fired pots drew his attention as he began to focus on the edge that distinguished one state from another. Eventually stretching the curved lines on the pots into lines on paper, canvas and wood.

Keven holds a Graduate Diploma of Arts (Visual) from the Australian National University and a Master of Arts and Entertainment Management from Deakin University. He lives with his family in Hobart where he works as a visual artist and management consultant. He is also currently enrolled in a cross-cultural and interdisciplinary PhD at the Australian National University, in the fields of landscape management and visual arts.