Michael-Francis Cartwright, born in 1959, has been creating his art since he was a young boy, his father, an artist, handed him a paint brush and canvas and told him to just start. An introduction to the paintings of the Impressionists began a path to the joyous discovery of the Fauves and Expressionists whose influence can still be found in his work today.
At Art College in Australia, Michael-Francis experimented with installation and construction art however, after meeting lecturer, Stewart Ross, former assistant to Henry Moore, was inspired to tackle the tradition of modelling and carving as well. In 1981 he met fellow artist, Shona Nunan. Their commitment to their journey as artists began immediately when they travelled with their first son to Carrara, Italy, in 1984, a mecca in those days for aspiring artists to work in marble or bronze.
The themes of Michael’s work have transformed over the years. At first his expression of the Journey of Life was always connected to the sea, from free installations to sculpted Boat forms precariously balancing over the ocean depths. His Boat forms have transformed into other iconic images; his Bird forms, symbols of freedom and joy; his Clouds on Hilltops, a capture of the fleeting moment and relationship of the ephemeral with the material; the Astronomer peering into the night sky, reminding us we are microscopic in the vastness of the Universe.
Michael-Francis now lives and shares a studio with his wife Shona Nunan in Provence, France.
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A film by Hugo Cavalier.