Francine K. Affourtit

Woodcut print in collaboration with dancer/choreographer Heather Rikric.
2019

Woodcut print and Rubbing on Masa
2018

Woodcut print on Masa                 Dimensions variable
2015

The process of compressing objects into their most compact and portable form has fascinated me since childhood. Portability translated into the potential for travel and adventure; the lure of unknown shores coupled with a self-sufficiency that transcended place. Much like the magic of Mary Poppin’s suitcase filled with an incomprehensible host of items and objects, I longed to conjure an illusion of the impossible. 

Woodcut print on Usuyo + Found Objects                               
Dimensions variable
2015

Inspired by the structures of developing infrastructure coupled with the detrital by-product of urbanization, including cardboard forms found in an industrial recycling bin. Expanding on the structural and sculptural potentials of paper, this piece is suspended and shaped in space through the integration of found objects. The stripped, crumbled and falling paper, punctuated by staccato rows of circular structure alludes to the precarious balance of humanity and environment.

Woodcut print on Masa
8 feet x 15 feet
2014

Exploring strategies for making sculptural works with paper, this piece from the Rock, Paper, Scissors series began as a set of chance operations. Each of the 4 sides of the 6 blocks used to create the work were shifted randomly in the printing process, allowing the collaborative potential of the medium to interact with the process of its making. Printed on both sides of the translucent Masa paper these prints hang and sway with the breeze, thereby producing a time-based work as light shifts on the surface morphing the imagery like a filmic animation. 

Woodcut Print on Masa paper
Four panels:
20 feet 8 inches x 43 inches each
2013

This piece is a visual translation of an essay written by my sister Lorraine Affourtit while in pursuit of her doctorate of at UC Santa Cruz. Utilizing the connective constellations of meaning constructed in the essay, I compound the conceptual framework inherent in the structure and content of the essay with physical obstructions, such as the size of the wall, into a rubric from which the work emerges. For example Lorraine's reading of Deleuze through Tacita Dean's Berlin Works in order to elucidate expanded concepts of temporality and the Crystal Image, formed the textual scaffolding for the work Palast (after Tacita Dean, for Lorraine)

Glazed Stoneware
Sizes variable (hand-sized)
2014 - 2015

These sculptures are part of a series of ceramic works composed of woodcarvings "printed" in clay. 

Woodcut prints collaged on board
10 inches x 8 inches x 1 inch, each
2014

These works are notations for expanded research into building both physical and illusionary forms with paper.

Woodcut prints mounted on canvas
100 Pieces: 
16 inches x 16 inches each
Installation dimensions variable
2013

Through the installation Totem I am seeking to build a visual language. Drawing inspiration from Ojibway scholar, Basil H. Johnson’s, translation of the concept of Totem; “that form from which I draw my meaning, purpose and being,” I created a series of hieroglyphs that represent the fragments of the psyche. The shapes and hieroglyphs reappear like an echo, creating a cadence like pattern that resembles the arrangement of pictographic texts.

Woodcut prints collaged on canvas
Nine pieces: 50cm x 50cm x 4.5cm 
2013

As the title suggests, Lexical gap is an attempt to give form to ideas waiting for their language. The vibrant color and textured imagery mimics the din of our visual landscape, the fractional sensation of a narrative just outside of grasp. Forms that resemble script remain inscrutable and broken, a symbol of missed communication, leaving only a trace.

Woodcut prints mounted on canvas
211cm x 170cm
2013

Woodcut and Monotype mounted on canvas
120cm x 80cm
2013

Woodcut and Monoprint on Fabriano
3 feet 7 inches x 5 feet
2011

From a series of prints developed at the Venice Printmaking Studio Residency. 

Woodcut and Monoprint on Fabriano
5 feet x 3 feet 7 inches
2011

From a series of prints developed at the Venice Printmaking Studio Residency. 

Artist Book
Woodcut prints and Letterpress on Rives 
8 inches x 8.5 inches x .5 inches
2011

Woodcut prints collaged on Rives BFK
8.5 inches x 8.5 inches
2012

Created for the exhibition "An Exchange with Sol Lewitt" at MASS MoCA curated by Regina Basha

Woodcut prints collaged on paper
35 individually framed pieces:
6.25 inches x 4.5 inches each
Installation Dimensions variable
2011

Created from the fragments of prints left over from larger works collaged on canvas

Woodcut prints mounted on canvas
20 pieces: 
16 inches x 16 inches x 1.5 inches
2013

Built from 20 16"x16" collages on canvas, this work references the craft of quilting: its history and use as an object as well as a narrative structure and a record of cast off materials. In this case the work is a record of years of cast of prints that found a new life through this piece. 

Woodcut Prints + Wood Frame
Over 100 Prints:
9 inches x 12 inches each
2005-2009