Francesco Conti

I grew up in Rome and developed an interest in art from an early age. I studied science and worked as a biologist in England and in the United states, specialising in the study of genetic diseases.

Email: fjaconti@gmail.com

​I have always been fascinated by the intricacy and the beauty of life, which are very striking also at the microscopic and molecular levels. It is a deep, amazing reality hidden behind the initial layers that are afforded by our senses. Whereas with science we try and understand how nature works, art, I find, explores its more intangible aspects, like time, place, and in particular the feelings and the memories that a place evokes.

I mostly paint from photos that I then modify, often substantially, to uncover the mood behind a scene, which frequently differs from the initial impression. Some places have a sinister feeling to them, and if I pay attention, I feel like they almost stare at me. I am self-taught.  I paint a variety of subjects in both oils and acrylics, and at the moment my main focus are urban landscapes and abandoned spaces.  The drawings here are from when I was a kid. The paintings are recent, from 2017.