Franck K

The polished stainless steel works by French artist Franck K play with the light and reflections of their surroundings, challenging the viewer’s perception and stimulating the imagination as they move and look.

A sculptural work that questions our perception of reality

Franck K’s abstract sculptures reflect light and reality in a distorted way, with their warped yet perfectly polished surfaces. They take on an almost liquid appearance, and seem to be animated by perpetual movement thanks to the interplay of curves and reflections.

“You can guess the subtle concavities and convexities, polished to an extreme, which impose unpredictable trajectories on the light, from reflection to distortion, playing with light and shade, and revealing supernatural, spectral, solar tones. You understand that the work appropriates the image and the colour, this material upsets our visual codes by abolishing spatial limits“. Philippe Parricart and Franck K, on Psychés

The artist’s work is part of the optical art movement: the viewer’s perception of the work changes and transforms as they move around the piece. Among the artists who have inspired him, Franck K names Anish Kapoor, renowned for the powerful optical and illusionary effects of his contemporary sculptures, and Constantin Brancusi, with whom he shares an attraction for smooth, polished surfaces.

Movement as a source of inspiration and imagination

During the creative process, the artist sometimes allows himself to be guided by the shapes that emerge on the surface of the metal as he deforms the stainless steel sheet, creating convexities and concavities. These appearances are made possible by the installation of coloured plates all around the sculpture, which are reflected in the metal being worked.

In this way, his gaze and vision are perpetually inscribed in the final sculpture, but become invisible when the work leaves his studio. Franck K then hands it over to the viewer, who in turn is free to search for familiar forms in the infinite meanders of new reflections. The spectator becomes the director of the show simply by “choosing the rhythm of their steps and the inclination of their gaze“.

“I’m in favour of interactivity, so that people who come to see my sculptures or installations can make them their own, play with them, go on inner journeys, and ultimately be the authors and players of a work within a work.” – Franck K

Technique, precision and passion: the foundation for creative excellence

Stainless steel is undoubtedly Franck K’s favourite material. But his curiosity has led him to experiment with many other materials: bronze, brass, aluminium, as well as marble, resin and wood. The artist’s attention to detail, combined with his patience and passion, give his work a perfectly mastered and executed look, particularly in the fluidity of the lines and the uniformity of the polish.

Franck K often starts his work with a drawing, which fixes his idea and allows it to mature. When the three-dimensional vision becomes clearer in his imagination, he attacks the raw material: sheets of stainless steel, the thickness of which he chooses according to the work he wants to create. These are cut, modelled, assembled, welded, ground and finally polished using polishing pastes and cotton discs. The metal has undergone a metamorphosis: the raw material has been transmuted into a work of art.

Franck K, sculptor-designer with an atypical career path

Franck K (1965) is a French contemporary sculptor who lives and works near Pau in south-west France. His self-taught career began in the boiler-making workshop of the family business where, as a child, he discovered working with materials, particularly metal. This technical knowledge is the solid foundation on which the quality of its work is built. At the age of eight he produced his first slate sculpture, which marked the beginning of his artistic approach.

After graduating in boilermaking and then aeronautical and industrial design, Franck K began making objects for private individuals and architects. He also worked on the layout of bars, restaurants and shops. During his years in Toulouse, he built theatre and cinema sets and designed advertising and shop fittings.

Franck K now devotes all his time to creating sculptures and designer furniture. His sculptural output takes a variety of forms: sculptures, wall sculptures and monumental installations – including in situ creations such as the four monumental sculptures installed in 2018 in the grounds of the Grand Hôtel des Bains, in Lavey-les-Bains, Switzerland.