Franko B: Pioneering Performance Art and Contemporary Visual Practice

Franko B is a seminal figure in contemporary art, recognized for a multidisciplinary practice that integrates performance, sculpture, painting, installation, and drawing. Born in Milan in 1960 and based in London since 1979, Franko B emerged as a prominent voice in the 1990s, particularly known for his visceral and ritualized performance pieces that often utilized his own body and blood as both medium and message. His work investigates the human condition, centering on themes of vulnerability, love, loss, and the political dimensions of the physical form. Beyond performance, Franko B is an accomplished visual artist and educator. His sculptural works often utilize glazed ceramics, found objects, and precious metals like gold and silver leaf, while his paintings and embroidered canvases bridge the intensity of his live actions with permanent artistic forms. He has exhibited and performed at world-class institutions including Tate Modern, the ICA, the South London Gallery, and the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Brussels. His archives are preserved at the University of Bristol Theatre Collection and the Bishopsgate Institute, reflecting his lasting impact on body art and the LGBTQIA+ community. Currently, Franko B serves as a Professor of Sculpture at the Accademia Albertina di Belle Arti di Torino, continuing to influence new generations while maintaining a practice that seeks to make the unbearable bearable through poetic and political resistance.