Series | Beauty Without Witness

The key image that I had in mind was the image of the shifting line where the water touches the land, the shifting line of separation, the ambiguity of the shore… The space in between, the gap between identities, the gap between stylistic solutions, the gap between soft and harsh. The body as the gap between the inner world and the outer world.
—Francesco Clemente

Painted at Clemente’s MacDougal Street home in New York during this time of self-isolation, the richly colored Beauty Without Witness series (2020) depict seascapes populated with shells and toys washed ashore. Inspired by Japanese ukiyo-e prints, Clemente has dated each watercolor in a bold, stamp-like rectangle, a new motif in his decades-long interaction with the aqueous medium. Evoking fantastical worlds and childhood memories, these works embrace the element of nostalgia and call attention to the poignancy of this moment—a time of loss and discovery.

Francesco Clemente
5-10-2020
2020
Watercolor on paper
18 1/16 x 23 15/16 inches (45.9 x 60.8 cm)
Courtesy of Francesco Clemente Studio; Collection of the Artist, New York
Photo: Farzad Owrang

Francesco Clemente
5-24-2020
2020
Watercolor on paper
18 1/16 x 23 15/16 inches (45.9 x 60.8 cm)
Courtesy of Francesco Clemente Studio; Collection of the Artist, New York
Photo: Farzad Owrang

Francesco Clemente
5-8-2020
2020
Watercolor on paper
18 1/16 x 23 15/16 inches (45.9 x 60.8 cm)
Courtesy of Francesco Clemente Studio; Collection of the Artist, New York
Photo: Farzad Owrang