Francks F. Deceus

Francks F. Deceus was born in Cap-Haitien, Haiti. He currently resides and maintains a studio in Brooklyn, NY. Deceus received a B.A. in sociology from Long Island University, NY, in 1992.

Décéus has studied printmaking at the venerated Bob Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, and in June of 2007, he completed a month-long printmaking residency in Gentilly, France. He was the recipient, in February 2008, of the Samella Lewis Award for Painting in the Hampton University Museum’s juried exhibition, “New Power Generation 2008.”
Throughout his artistic career, Décéus’ work has marched chronologically from his childhood in Haiti, through his immersion into his new urban community as an immigrant, and recently, to his meditations on a conceptual vision of humanity. He has always been more interested in exploring themes and issues than in making definitive statements or creating a visual language with his art, and his work resonates with political and sociological content.

Stylistically his work incorporates many of the influences and aesthetic forms of artists like Norman Lewis and Howarddena Pindell, and reverberates with some of the artistic strains of his native Haiti. His modernist style combines figurative, abstract, and layered elements and relies heavily on a simplification of form and function. His work is characterized by a semiotic economy, minimalist use of imagery, and a deliberately limited palette range within series of work.

 

 

His solo exhibitions include the Pounder-Kone Art Space, Los Angeles; Tilford Art Group, Los Angeles.

Group exhibitions include the Brooklyn Museum, NY; Museum of Contemporary African Diaspora Arts (MOCADA), Brooklyn, NY; The National Civil Rights Museum, Memphis, TN; Gallery M, New York, NY; and Hampton University, Hampton, VA.

The works of Deceus have entered numerous private and public collections, including Xavier University, New Orleans, LA, and the Schomburg Center, New York Public Library, NY.

His work has been featured in publications such as The International Revue of African-American Art and The Village Voice.