Painting is like making love. You cannot ask, 'How do you do it?' But, hopefully, it is beautiful. - Francesco Clemente (Italian painter)

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Italian, neo-expressionist painter, Francesco Clemente's contemporary style is erotic and fantastical.

His work is dreamlike and spans oil, installation, watercolor, drawing, fresco, mosaic, and sculpture. Clemente's work is characterized by experimentation with symbols, portraiture, and the human body. He is self taught and studied architecture, Hindu spiritual texts, papermaking and miniature painting. Clemente has collaborated with Jean-Michel Basquiat, Andy Warhol, and Allen Ginsberg among other contemporary artists. Also a poet, has published works partnering with John Weiners, Robert Creeley, and Rene Ricard.
He first began receiving recognition for his work in the early 70's and has been widely shown since then.
Clemente is resilient and remains unscathed by the ever-changing, habitually trend-driven art world. His wife, Alba Clemente, cannot forgo mentioning. She serves as a muse for Clemente and many other artists. Of Alba, Clemente says, "in Hindu mythology, it is said Siva without Shakti is a corpse. I believe in the feminine nature of Energy. Alba has been the great equalizer of the uneven flow of my energy. She has also made fun of me along the way, a vital element to stay relatively sane." - Muse Magazine
In addition to his wife, Clemente often includes himself in his portraiture, they possess exaggerated features, typically centering on the eyes. 
Clemente has also dabbled in films, creating about 200 paintings for an adaptation of the Charles Dickens classic, 'Great Expectations' (1998), and making appearances in 'Good Will Hunting' (1997), and 'Adam Green's Aladdin' (2016).

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