Zen Colors 029, 2021

Ckraft  

Born in Tours in 1968, Franck, alias Ckraft is a self-taught artist who grew up in Angers.

A trained pastry chef, a profession he learned in the family business, Franck is passionate. Named best apprentice in France in 1986, then trained by the greatest professionals, including the Meilleurs Ouvriers de France, he left for Switzerland in 1989, before becoming, a year later, the pastry chef of the Grand Hotel Excelsior in Montreux.

In 1992, after being voted best pastry chef in Switzerland at the National Competition, he became pastry chef at the Montreux Palace. During these successful years, Franck creates and produces his own artistic pieces. He draws, develops and then produces the most beautiful cakes in pulled, blown sugar…

In 2000, his life changed and he returned to France. Until 2016, he was absorbed by his restaurants and left drawing aside. But from 2016, Franck finally becomes Ckraft, he changes his professional activity and then finds the time to draw.

Always passionate about painting, drawing and music, he finally gives himself the right and the time to get back to it. Get back to it because from near or far, drawing has always been part of his life. When he was younger, he painted the mopeds, snowboards, and other gear of his friends with an airbrush, combining their desires and his own.

Self-taught, he is no less cultured and curious. He loves and is inspired by Vasarely, Soto, Le Parc, Polesello, Cruz-Diez, Mondrian, Soulage… and Basquiat for his story and his works.

Among various techniques, mediums and supports, Ckraft works today mainly with alcohol markers, on an expanded PVC support.

« I am unable to say where my inspiration comes from, even if my eye is often challenged by the materials, their architectures and the entanglements. I can't define my style, put words and references on it. I draw spontaneously and when I start to put the lines together, the shapes start a movement that evolves instinctively.

It's the same process for the paintings, I have a certain idea of what I'm going to do when I start, then this idea evolves over the strokes. My paintings do not particularly tell a story. I prefer that each look is a personal experience and that everyone walks in the middle of the movements. This is also the reason why my paintings have a number and not a title. »

When his schedule and mindset are right, Ckraft draws every day, and if his hand is fluid, he can easily sit for several hours drawing with music.

The painting in progress is always exhibited in the living room, this is how it evolves with each look by his loved ones or by himself.