Quiet Little Stories - November 22, 2009

Relatable and honest, Graham’s works are some of the most gentle, yet emotionally evocative works ever featured at Art Whino. His imaginative illustrative paintings are small in size and big on emotion, each depicting its own little narrative, often dreamily reminiscent, reaching deep into the human condition and showing us all little pieces of ourselves along the way.

The exhibition will go beyond the typical gallery experience, letting the viewer in on the action with an interactive story-writing component. The artist will invite viewers to share their take on the images with little written thoughts and stories that will be added to the walls along with the works.

Saturday, November 21st, from 6pm – Midnight

Location: Art Whino Gallery
173 Waterfront St.
National Harbor, MD 20745

Show end date: December 21st

Musical Performance by: SOL
Funk Reggae Blues Rock
Sol-Roots.com

The event is FREE and open to the public.

Graham Franciose was born and raised in Massachusetts and has been interested in creating stuff for as long as he can remember. He grew up in a very creative family; his father is a jeweler and his mother spent some time in art school and is just an all around creative lady. Graham grew up reading comic books and skateboarding, both of which have had an influence on his style of art. He graduated from the Hartford Art School at the University of Hartford in 2005 with a BFA in illustration. After a short time doing freelance illustration, he decided to concentrate more on his own personal work. Graham's first show outside of college was in Baton Rouge, LA. Since then he has shown in various group shows throughout the United States; in Colorado, Louisiana, California, Maryland and Texas. He recently moved to Austin TX where he has been featured in a number of shows and just recently had a solo show. Graham’s work has been featured in Aeries publication, CMYK magazine, the Hartford Art School Catalog, the Boston Science Museum and Juxtapoz.com.

Artist Statement:

I feel my works often provide viewers with a glimpse into a story. Not, necessarily not a climactic part of the story, but rather a character’s more contemplative or reflective moment. My works are not illustrative in the traditional sense; I don't come up with the story first and then illustrate it. Instead, I work more backwards than the norm, starting with some simple pencil marks that form into something, usually a character – their posture, position, shape, etc. then determines what context I create for them. From there the images sort of build upon themselves, each mark determining what will come next. It's a very free and spontaneous process. I don't work from preliminary sketches, instead I draw right on the painting, finishing it up with paint or pen and ink. Only then, after looking at the final piece, is when I may figure out the story’s framework. But because of this process, the story will be a different experience for everyone. I think there is an ambiguity to my work that allows people to connect with what's going on individually and personally. There is never a concrete idea/story being presented, so all images are inherently open to interpretation. Because of this aspect within my work, I want the viewers at Art Whino to be involved and shed some insight on the paintings. There will be pads and pens available for people to record the story they see, whether it is a sentence, poem, paragraph, or tale. Hopefully, the different perspectives will create an interesting experience for everyone and bring an exciting element to the show. When the show has comes to an end, I plan to publish the stories along side the paintings in a book.