Archie Franks

Tutor - Online Foundation Diploma in Art and Design
Short Course Tutor

Born in 1986, Archie Franks lives and works in London. He graduated from the Royal Academy Schools in 2012 and has been awarded the Sainsbury Scholarship in Painting 2013 which enabled him to work fully funded in Rome at the British School for a year. He also received a Jerwood Painting Fellowship 2016 which consisted of financial support, a mentor scheme and a UK-wide touring show starting at Jerwood Space in London. He has exhibited in numerous group and solo shows both in the UK and in Europe, including ‘Bloomberg New Contemporaries' for promising new graduates in 2013 as well as having contributed articles to publications ‘Garageland’ and ‘Arty’. His work has been positively reviewed in Time Out, Critic’s choice in The Financial Times, Art Monthly, This is Tomorrow and Fad magazine amongst others. He has taught in London and has been a guest lecturer at a variety of UK art schools.

Describe your approach to teaching
My approach to teaching is to draw out the student’s own desires and build confidence. I see myself only as a resource library for the student to find out artists that may interest them. I do not impose my own artistic philosophy on the student, rather help them build their own

What inspires your own work? 
I use imagery from popular culture, leisure and consumer culture and my own everyday experiences and history. I paint as a way to filter through memories and images from culture. A gothic atmosphere permeates the work and although the emphasis from painting to painting alters slightly, memory, decadence, and a dream-like unreality are core recurring themes.