If I hadn't discovered Francis Bacon in 2011, I probably wouldn't have become a painter. Or perhaps I still would have found painting eventually, but I don't think I would have believed it could become my profession.
Art
When I first encountered Bacon's work, I was struck by how exposed emotion could be. He showed me that painting didn't have to imitate reality in order to feel more truthful than reality itself. He distorted the human figure almost beyond recognition, yet somehow never lost its humanity. The body changed, but the emotion remained intact. That was something I had never experienced before.
Another reason Bacon became so important to me was the fact that he was largely self-taught. Seeing someone build such a powerful artistic language outside a traditional academic path gave me confidence to study painting on my own. Not simply to start making paintings, but to understand them.
There is a thought that has stayed with me ever since:
Before you can break the figure, you first have to understand the figure.
I believe the same is true for every artistic language. Freedom only becomes meaningful when you understand what you are choosing to leave behind.
Another reason Bacon became so important to me was the fact that he was largely self-taught. Seeing someone build such a powerful artistic language outside a traditional academic path gave me confidence to study painting on my own. Not simply to start making paintings, but to understand them.
There is a thought that has stayed with me ever since:
Before you can break the figure, you first have to understand the figure.
I believe the same is true for every artistic language. Freedom only becomes meaningful when you understand what you are choosing to leave behind.
Even today, although my work has moved toward abstraction, I keep returning to Bacon. His presence appears not through direct influence, but through questions that continue to shape my own practice.
One painting in particular has never left me: Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944).
To me, it is one of the most honest paintings of the post-war period. It captures not simply violence, but emotional collapse. Every time I return to it, I notice something I had missed before. It is a work that never seems to become fully familiar.
What fascinates me just as much is the trace Bacon left on culture itself. His influence extends far beyond painting. I continue to discover echoes of his visual language in cinema, photography and contemporary art.
David Lynch often acknowledged Bacon's importance to his work, and I find those connections especially compelling. Another example is I Come with the Rain by Tran Anh Hung, where Bacon's imagery is transformed into sculptural crime scenes that become part of the film's narrative.
One painting in particular has never left me: Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944).
To me, it is one of the most honest paintings of the post-war period. It captures not simply violence, but emotional collapse. Every time I return to it, I notice something I had missed before. It is a work that never seems to become fully familiar.
What fascinates me just as much is the trace Bacon left on culture itself. His influence extends far beyond painting. I continue to discover echoes of his visual language in cinema, photography and contemporary art.
David Lynch often acknowledged Bacon's importance to his work, and I find those connections especially compelling. Another example is I Come with the Rain by Tran Anh Hung, where Bacon's imagery is transformed into sculptural crime scenes that become part of the film's narrative.
That, to me, is the true measure of an artist.
Not simply creating remarkable works, but changing the visual language of future generations. When ideas leave the museum and begin to influence filmmakers, musicians, writers and other artists, they become part of culture itself.
Despite the criticism, controversy and difficult reputation that surrounded Francis Bacon throughout his life, I believe he achieved exactly that.
He didn't just paint history.
He became part of it.
Not simply creating remarkable works, but changing the visual language of future generations. When ideas leave the museum and begin to influence filmmakers, musicians, writers and other artists, they become part of culture itself.
Despite the criticism, controversy and difficult reputation that surrounded Francis Bacon throughout his life, I believe he achieved exactly that.
He didn't just paint history.
He became part of it.
Portrait of Francis Bacon
Let's Art Series (2014)
Let's Art Series (2014)
My interpretation of the third panel from Francis Bacon's Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944).
Third Panel from Three Studies for Figures at the Base of a Crucifixion (1944)
