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 an internationally acclaimed contemporary artist from New York City, born in Masaya, Nicaragua. Known for a vivid fusion of abstract expressionism, neo‑expressionism, rock‑carving aesthetics, and Nicaraguan primitivism, FdlM creates emotionally charged compositions defined by bright color, jagged linework, and hieroglyph‑inspired text. His work explores childhood memory, family dynamics, current events, and sociopolitical themes with raw immediacy. In 2006, de las Mercedes gained international recognition for *The Priority Boxes a participatory art project promoting peace that earned him a joint legislative resolution from the New Jersey Senate and General Assembly. He has been named one of 15 Artists About to Dominate 2015 by Complex magazine and is the recipient of multiple awards recognizing his artistic and community impact. His painting "April Flowers" was selected by the Artists Unite/MTA Poster Project for display throughout the New York City Subway system.
FdlM’s work has appeared in major exhibitions including the Queens Museum, BronxArtSpace, the Joan Mitchell Foundation, BKLYN Designs, Naples Museum of Art, the 2019 Latin American Triennial of New York, and international institutions across Europe and Latin America. His paintings are held in public and private collections worldwide.
Prints of the artist’s pre‑2014 “lost works”paintings destroyed in the five‑alarm fire that consumed his home and studio are available exclusively through TurningArt. These restored archival pieces offer a rare window into an essential era of his practice.
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