Robèrt Franken
b. 1946
2 Artworks
Robèrt Franken was born into a creative family in The Hague, Netherlands, in 1946. A sixth-generation artist, as a child he spent time in the studios of Mesdag, connected with the Panorama Mesdag Museum. From 1963-67 he studied at the Free Academy of Arts, The Hague, before migrating to the Wellington region in 1967, where he has been based ever since.
In the early 1990s he began tutoring at The Learning Connexion art school, continuing to do so for the following two decades.
Franken has created artworks in a variety of mediums including pastel, paint, textiles, glass engraving, ceramics, mosaic and film. He has travelled and exhibited extensively–both throughout New Zealand and globally, where his work has been shown in Switzerland, The Netherlands, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, and China. His works are held in national and international collections, including that of Te Papa Tongarewa Museum of New Zealand.
See also:
- Robèrt Franken (artist’s website)
- WCL Interview: Acclaimed Artist, Robèrt Franken
- Robèrt Franken: A Bird’s Eye View of My Private World (exhibition), City Gallery Wellington, 22 Oct – 20 Nov 1983
- Ian Wedde, ‘Robèrt Franken: The Trader Aesthetic’, Art New Zealand, Issue 33 (Summer 1984-5)
- Spirit Tree, (exhibition) Aratoi — Wairarapa Museum of Art and History, 9 Apr – 26 May 2013
- Robèrt Franken: Reflections in a pond, (exhibition) Pātaka Art+Museum, 4 Feb – 20 Mar 2022
Robèrt Franken at work on his mural ‘Naga, Protecting the Ancient Knowledge’ (1991), Te Ngākau Civic Square, Te Whanganui-a-Tara Wellington
Image: Photographer unknown, courtesy Wellington City Council Archives [ref: 00517-1376-007]
