Michael-Francis Cartwright, born in 1959, has been creating art since childhood, when his father, an artist, placed a paintbrush and canvas in his hands and told him to begin. Early encounters with the Impressionists inspired a lifelong journey through the worlds of Fauvism and Expressionism, influences that continue to shape his vibrant and expressive work today.
While studying at Art College in Australia, Michael-Francis explored installation and construction art, but his creative direction shifted profoundly after meeting lecturer Stewart Ross, former assistant to Henry Moore, who encouraged him to embrace the traditional practices of modelling and carving.
In 1981, he met fellow artist Shona Nunan, and together they embarked on a life dedicated to art. Their journey took them to Carrara, Italy, in 1984 — then a vital hub for artists working in marble and bronze — where their shared commitment to sculpture deepened.
Throughout his career, Michael-Francis has explored themes of life’s journey, often expressed through a profound connection to the sea. His early works — including ephemeral installations and sculptural Boat forms — evoke the precarious balance between stability and the unknown, symbolizing the voyage of life and navigation through existence. His Boat forms, often seen drifting over imagined ocean depths, are powerful metaphors for human experience — travel, migration, adventure, and solitude.
Over time, these maritime forms have evolved into a broader symbolic language of freedom, movement, and transformation:
- Bird forms, capturing the joy and liberation of flight.
- Clouds on Hilltops, reflecting the fleeting, ephemeral moments of life, hovering between the material and the spiritual.
- The Astronomer, a figure peering into the vast night sky, reminding us of our microscopic presence within the immense cosmos — a journey outward, beyond the sea, into the universe itself.
Today, Michael-Francis lives and works in Provence, France, where he shares a studio with Shona Nunan. Together, they continue to create works that speak to life’s essential voyages — across sea, sky, and the human spirit.
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A film by Hugo Cavalier.