Francis Offman's paintings and works on paper utilise an economy of means, which is key in understanding his practice as a whole.
2023 year exhibited in Biennial Find out more
For Offman it is important not to waste materials – spent coffee grounds, discarded artworks from collages, found materials and paint are all brought together for each unique work in his oeuvre. Offman’s prudence seems particularly relevant after years in which many everyday objects became sought after and environmental concerns have made recycling increasingly imperative. It is his frugality that is essential to the conceptual underpinning of Offman’s work. Whilst the paintings are all unframed, utilising no support structure, they are rich and complex and reward careful inspection. Surfaces overlap, paint and object collide to give end results that pivot between painting and collage.
Offman’s work is currently included in a group exhibition at Castello di Rivoli, Italy, as well as the 8th Biennial of Painting at Museum Dhondt-Dhaenens in Belgium.
Liverpool Biennial 2023
Untitled
Francis Offman proposes a meditation on the Rwandan genocide, an intimate reflection on how to convey history’s violent narrative through objects of personal connection. ‘Untitled’ is centred around a Bible belonging to Offman’s mother which accompanied her as she fled the country with her family following the onset of the Rwandan Civil War. The floor is filled with books, each delicately held up by callipers – instruments used by Belgian colonisers to measure the facial features of Rwandan people and classify them into racial groups. This immense violence is juxtaposed against the daily pleasure of drinking coffee – a major export of Rwanda – with repurposed grounds spread on the fabric and covering the books. The dialogue between these objects
Francis Offman proposes a meditation on the Rwandan genocide, an intimate reflection on how to convey history’s violent narrative through objects of personal connection. ‘Untitled’ is centred around a Bible belonging to Offman’s mother which accompanied her as she fled the country with her family following the onset of the Rwandan Civil War. The floor is filled with books, each delicately held up by callipers – instruments used by Belgian colonisers to measure the facial features of Rwandan people and classify them into racial groups. This immense violence is juxtaposed against the daily pleasure of drinking coffee – a major export of Rwanda – with repurposed grounds spread on the fabric and covering the books. The dialogue between these objects demonstrates how personal experience is central to collective histories and healing. Showing at Tate Liverpool
Untitled
Showing at Tate Liverpool
Monday to Sunday 10.00am-5:50pm
