Clemente was born in 1952 in
Naples, in
Campania in southern Italy. In 1970 he enrolled in the faculty of architecture of the
Sapienza, the university of Rome, but did not complete a degree there.[3] In Rome he came into contact with contemporary artists such as
Luigi Ontani and
Alighiero Boetti, who had come to the city at about the same time,[4] and also with the American
Cy Twombly, who lived there.[1] Boetti, who was ten years older, became both a friend and a mentor; in 1974 they visited Afghanistan together.[5] With Ontani, Clemente gave performances at the Galleria L'Attico.[6] Despite his close involvement with these artists associated with the
Arte povera movement, and his interest in others such as
Pino Pascali and
Michelangelo Pistoletto, Clemente preferred to work on paper. He made ink drawings of dreams and recollections of his childhood, and in 1971, in his first solo show, exhibited
collages at the
Galleria Giulia in Rome.[1]
In 1973 Clemente made the first of many visits to India.[1] He established a studio in
Madras (now Chennai),[2] and became interested in both the religious and folk traditions of India and in the traditional art and crafts of the country. In 1976 and 1977 he visited the library of the Theosophical Society of Madras to study the religious texts there.[3] In 1980 and 1981 he worked on Francesco Clemente Pinxit, a series of twenty-four
gouaches on antique hand-made
rag paper, in collaboration with miniature painters from
Orissa and
Jaipur.[1][3][7]: 88 In 1982 he moved to New York City.[8]. He lives in
Greenwich Village.[9]
The highest selling painting by the artist was The Fourteen Stations, No. XI (1981-1982) who sold by $1,860,000 at
Christie'sNew York, at 9 May 2022.[11]
^
abcdef[s.n.] (2012).
Clemente, Francesco. Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 2017. (subscription required)
^
abcdClemènte, Francesco (in Italian). Enciclopedie on line. Rome: Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana. Accessed March 2017.
^Matthew Gale ([n.d.]).
Ontani, Luigi. Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online. Oxford: Oxford University Press. Accessed April 2017. (subscription required)
^Stella Kramrisch (1990).
The Twenty-Four Indian Miniatures; in: Ann Percy, Raymond Foye (1990). Francesco Clemente: Three Worlds (exhibition catalogue). Philadelphia: Philadelphia Museum of Art. Pages 88–109.
ISBN9780847812974.
^Kurutz, Steven.
"What Do Anna Wintour and Bob Dylan Have in Common? This Secret Garden", The New York Times, 28 September 2016. Accessed 3 November 2016. "The house is part of the Macdougal-Sullivan Gardens Historic District, a landmarked community of 21 row homes, with 11 lining Macdougal Street and 10 running parallel on Sullivan Street."
Clemente, Francesco. India. Twelvetrees Press. 1989.
ISBN9780942642308
Rimanelli, David. Francesco Clemente Paintings 2000–2003. Gagosian Gallery. 2003.
ISBN9781880154946
Clemente, Francesco. Francesco Clemte: Fifty One Days at Mount Abu. D'Offay, Anthony Gallery. 1999.
ISBN9780947564773
Fischl, Eric; Ammann, Jean-Christophe; Young, Geoffrey; Clemente, Francesco. Eric Fischl: It's Where I look...It's How I See... Their World, My World, The World. Mary Boone Gallery/ Jablonka Gallery. 2009.
ISBN9783931354329
Auping, Michael. Francesco Clemente. Abrams, Harry N., Inc. 1985.
ISBN9780810907720
Avedon, Elizabeth. Francesco Clemente. Knopf Publishing Group. 1987.
ISBN9780394747873
Katz, Vincent. Life Is Paradise: The Portraits of Francesco Clemente. Powerhouse Books. 1999.
ISBN9781576870532
McLure, Michael. Francesco Clemente Testa Coda. Rizzoli. 1992.
ISBN9780847814695
Percy, Ann. Francesco Clemente: Three Worlds. Rizzoli. 1990.
ISBN9780847812974
Percy, Ann. Francesco Clemente: Three Worlosi. Philadelphia Museum of Art. 1998.
ISBN9780876330845
Warner, Marina. Francesco Clemente: The Book of the Sea. Gagosian Gallery. 2002.
ISBN9781880154779
Shapiro, David. Francesco Clemente. Parkett Verlag AG. 1986.
ISBN9783907509593
Valli, Giambattista. Giambattista Valli. Rizzoli. 16 October 2012.
ISBN9780847835713
Denninson, Lisa. Clemente: A Retrospective. Abrams, Harry N., Inc. 1999.
ISBN9780810969179
Crone, Rainer. Francesco Clemente: Pastelle 1972–1983 Prestel Verlag GmbH & Co KG. 1984.
ISBN9783791306421
Eccher, Danilo. Francesco Clemente. Allemandi, Umberto & Company. 1999.
ISBN9788842209171
Walcott, Derek. A Conversion, exhibition catalogue. Deitch Projects, New York, Edizioni Charta, Milano 2009.
Rushdie, Salman. Being Francesco Clemente, in: Francesco Clemente: Self Portraits, exhibition catalogue. New York: Gagosian Gallery, 2006. Pages 5–10.
Kort, Pamela. Francesco Clemente in Conversation with Pamela Kort, New York, 26 March 2011; in: Francesco Clemente, Palimpsest, exhibition catalogue. Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt, 2011.