Francesco Clemente Italy, b. 1952
60 x 30 x 1 15/16 in
Iman (2015) was the first in this series, marking the beginning of a project in which beauty, identity, and presence converge. As both a fashion icon and a cultural figure, Iman Bowie embodies a layered persona that Clemente captures with intimacy and reverence. His brushwork, often fluid and emotionally resonant, lends the portrait a mythic dimension — Iman appears not merely as a model, but as a muse, a symbol, and a subject rendered with poetic sensitivity.
Born in 1952 in Naples, Francesco Clemente emerged as a central figure in the Italian Transavanguardia movement of the 1980s. His wide-ranging practice, rooted in both Western and non-Western traditions, reflects a lifelong interest in spirituality, sexuality, and the complexity of human experience. In Iman, these themes subtly unfold, turning the act of portraiture into a meditation on presence and transformation.