Composition, 2019

Francky Criquet  

Born on September 19th, 1968 in La Flèche (La Sarthe, France), Francky Criquet comes from a family of second hand goods /scrap metal dealers. His father is from Fort de France, and his mother, born in Orbec (Calvados, France), is Normand.

From a very young age, Francky is fascinated by the artifacts surrounding him and namely, by drawings and paintings. His childhood leaves its mark, nurturing a desire to draw, paint and sculpt for pure pleasure and with a talent which is quickly obvious.

In 1978, at the age of just ten, he paints a mural at Verron primary school where he is a pupil. He paints another for his secondary school in 1980. That year, at the age of twelve, he wins First Prize in the “Young Painters Competition" (Prix de la Jeune Peinture) organized by the city of Le Mans. The following year, several of his drawings are exhibited in the town hall of La Flèche.

Fuelled by a thirst to learn, from a young age Francky Criquet turns his hand to restoring and completing old paintings and engravings discovered in the family storerooms.

At 18, he takes the decision to work in the antiques business, selling objects at various antiques markets and trade fairs. From time to time, he restores old paintings for other antiques dealers, some of which end up exhibited in museums (Nantes) or are purchased by art collectors.

His free time is given over to writing poetry, short stories and a passion for theatre. In parallel, he gives painting classes, draws, paints, sculpts, makes ceramics and exhibits his works in Nantes (Atelier les Transbordeurs in 1980, Atelier La Gobretière in 1992-93, Atelier d'Art d'Art in 1993-94).

In 1995, Francky Criquet leaves France for Andalusia, Spain where he spends one year painting in the studio of Julio Fernandez Ceballos Montalban, who becomes his painting master. The following year, he travels to England where he produces more than 300 paintings, all of which are later sold in the United States.

On his return to France in 1996, Francky Criquet turns his hand to a completely different project: the architecture and rehabilitation of a troglodyte site in the Maine and Loire. At the same time, he continues to exhibit works in Paris, Lyon and Marseille; in effect, he never stops creating: drawing, painting and sculpture, are, for him, a daily need, an unavoidable part of his existence, punctuated by exhibitions /performances for the general public, art lovers and collectors.

In 2003, exhibitions are organized by various galleries: in Brazil at the French Embassy in Sao Paulo, in Megen in The Netherlands and in Italy. The following year, his works are shown in New York and in Miami. Between 2005 and 2008, he regularly exhibits in China, where his gallery, Sangshan Art, organizes numerous exhibitions in Shanghaï, Beijing and HangZhou.

During this same period, he continues to show his works in France's major cities: Paris, Marseille, Lyon and La Rochelle. In 2010, he embarks on a partnership with a new Italian gallery, resulting in exhibitions in Rome, Montefalco and Brescia.

In 2013, the Archives Yves Klein, situated avenue du Maine in Paris, organizes an exhibition of his paintings and ceramics. Francky Criquet spends the following year working in his studio, producing sculptures and paintings, culminating with an exhibition of his works in Lyon (« La Galerie »).and now in Paris ("LaLoge")

Find this artist and many more in our collection of works from the figurative narration movement.