Carlos Franco

The art of Carlos Franco (Madrid, Spain, 1951) is characterised by the use of symbology in both individual and collective subconscious. He turns to classicism and mythology as a way to search common needs of human behaviour.

From his beginnings, he is directly influenced by well-known artists such as Van Gogh, Goya, Rubens, Ingres, Manet, Picasso or Bacon, as well as by movements such as Pompeian painting or Pop Art. Based on these references, Franco’s painting is strongly related to figurative tradition, by juxtaposing colour, expression and voluptuousness.

In 1989 he won the competition for decorating the facade of the ‘Real Casa de la Panadería’ in Plaza Mayor (Madrid), which meant one of his most important projects. In 2004, due to a travelling exhibition organised by the Sociedad Estatal para la Acción Cultural Exterior, his paintings have been exhibited in different museums in South America, Panama, Colombia and Brazil. In 2007 the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofia curated an exhibition of his graphic art at the Monastery of Silos in Burgos.

His work forms part of museums and public collections such as ARTIUM Centro-Museo Vasco de Arte Contemporáneo (Vitoria, Spain), Colección Los Bragales (Santander, Spain), Colección de Arte Contemporáneo “La Caixa” (Barcelona, Spain) and MNCARS Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid, Spain).