Summary
Franks’ work engages with the relationship between high and low culture, conflating pop imagery and ‘classical’ styles of sculpture and art, deploying disposable materials and repurposed objects. Recently, his work has begun exploring economies of scale and production by combining digital technology and analogue practices. Franks has taught and led undergraduate and postgraduate arts courses intensively in the UK and has taught in China. Franks’ work is regularly exhibited internationally, and his work is in numerous collections, including the British Council. Franks has featured at major galleries and museums in Africa, Europe, UK, USA, China, Australia, New Zealand, and has completed residencies in Africa, USA and New Zealand.
Research interests
Franks' research interests include popular culture, folk art, digital technologies, sculptural histories and how they converge in the popular imagination; his work is informed by concepts of hauntology and he uses these ideas to think and develop work, particularly regarding capitalism and its effect on a global obsession with nostalgia.
Courses taught
- Art 216: Sculpture I
- Art 217: Sculpture II
- Art 317: Intermediate Sculpture
- Art 416: Advanced Sculpture
- Art 417: Problems in Sculpture
- Art 498: Seminar in Visual Arts
- Art 710: Graduate Studio Practices
I also work on thesis committees for undergraduate and post-graduate.
Education
- MFA, Fine Art, Goldsmiths College, University of London, 1999-2000
- B.A. (hons), Fine Art, Staffordshire University, UK, 1989-1992
- Foundation Diploma in Art and Design (FAD level 3), University of Lincolnshire and Humberside, Hull School of Art, UK, 1988-1989