Showcase 5: Francisco Sierra

“The New God”, 2013, Oil on canvas, 220 × 170 cm

Text by Leopold Weinberg

It’s actually impossible not to look. The viewer feels as if in Homer’s Odyssey when observing the current showcase, akin to Odysseus tied to the mast. Yet, here it’s not the sirens calling but the artist Francisco Sierra. The significant difference lies in the fact that one may succumb to his “visual” call without fearing death. Sierra captivates the viewer with his works, pulling them into his spellbinding world. He achieves this through his craftsmanship, translating large-scale oil paintings into photorealistic depictions, while exaggerating reality with his imagination. In doing so, Sierra manages to engage not only the viewer’s sight but also their other senses: one is tempted to touch the depicted objects or animals, associate familiar scents with the depicted scenes, and lose themselves in his fantastical visual worlds.

Rimini - Elegance (The Unicorn Ballet), 2012 Oil on canvas, 126 ×190 cm

About

Francisco Sierra is an artist who is widely recognized for his oil paintings that challenge figuration. He is fascinated by the transformative potential of painting and is constantly exploring the pitfalls of representation and photographic reproduction. In his work categories such as kitsch, decoration, humour and the grotesque dissolve and offer a new perspective into our way of perceiving the world that surrounds us.

Francisco Sierra was born in Santiago de Chile and moved to Switzerland when he was nine years old. He is a self-taught visual artist and a trained musician. Sierra has won several prestigious awards, including the Swiss Art Award and the Manor Art Prize. His work is featured in numerous institutional and corporate collections in Switzerland and abroad.

He lives and works in Cotterd (CH).

All images courtesy of the artist

SRF Kultur with artist Francisco Sierra: