Piece description from the artist
Years ago, during a sleepless night, Franck de las Mercedes walked into his studio and noticed a dried blob of paint on his journal that resembled an abstract flower. That accidental form became the seed of a new visual language — flowers painted entirely from intuition, without sketches, without planning, without expectation.
In February 2014, a five‑alarm fire destroyed Franck’s home and studio, taking with it his life’s work. When he relocated to New York City, unsure whether he would ever paint again, the flowers returned — this time through portrait studies, ink gestures, and eventually a new body of abstract floral paintings created with palette knives, acrylic markers, and the raw immediacy of watercolor paper.
Inspired by the urban nature of Washington Heights, Harlem, and Inwood, these works capture the tension between chaos and renewal. Their vivid colors, expressive textures, and spontaneous forms echo the resilience of flowers growing through concrete — a metaphor for rebuilding, returning, and choosing hope. No originals exist. Each piece is a survivor in its own right — a tribute to the works lost in the fire and a testament to the creative instinct that refuses to disappear.
Franck de las Mercedes is a New York based contemporary artist whose vibrant, emotionally charged paintings bridge memory, identity, and the pulse of urban life. Born in Masaya, Nicaragua, his work blends abstract expressionism, neo‑expressionism, and the visual language of rock carvings and Nicaraguan primitivism into a signature style of bold color, jagged linework, and hieroglyph‑like text.
His practice is rooted in storytelling, childhood recollections, family histories, and the contradictions of modern life, rendered with immediacy and raw beauty. Franck’s art has reached audiences worldwide, earning international acclaim, cultural awards, and recognition for his influential public art projects, including The Priority Boxes, a global peace initiative that became a defining part of his legacy.
Collectors are drawn to the emotional depth and striking visual energy of his work, which continues to evolve while remaining unmistakably his own.
Exclusive to TurningArt: archival prints of Franck’s pre‑2014 “lost works,” salvaged from the fire that destroyed his studio, offering a rare glimpse into an essential chapter of his artistic journey.
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