Biography

Sculpture has been a life long passion for me. I am originally from Newark, N.J. I began noticing sculptures in the downtown area at an early age. When I was a teenager I opened a bag of clay I found in a friends house and  thats where it all began.

I realized early on the importance of having a strong foundation in anatomy and drawing.

I attended the Arts Students League in NY, for about 2 years, where I studied Anatomy, proportional systems and figure drawing under Robert Beverly Hale and later under his assistant, Michael Burban.

I raised my family working in the trades, always finding the time to hone my craft-faithfully every day.When my children were grown I was able to turn my focus full time to my art. I opened an art studio in Verona, N.J.  working at my art, giving classes and workshops. I moved to Orlando, Florida in 2010.  I opened Franco Fine Art Studio in Winter Springs.

  For a brief time I did art shows, and I've won several awards. That path never interested me. I never felt the need to appear grandiose.

I have been featured in art publications such as Sculptural Pursuit and Fine Art Connoisseur( not paid ads) to name two that come to mind. My work has been noticed by collectors around the globe. I've done commissions in Singapore City, Singapore, Vienna,Austria NYC, NY, Ca. and so on.My work has been exhibited in Paris, Vienna, Singapore, Japan and more.

  I've done approx. 30 commissions for Kessler Collections over the past 12 years. My work appears In their private collection, galleries  and some large scale monuments that are on display in their hotels.

  My first sculpture aimed at public art was the "Double Helix-Mutation or increased Compassion"- Although to date, having not sold the sculpture as a monument , I have granted permission for the images to be used in publications in Universities such as Harvard, Princeton, and Yale. The sculpture also appears in text books on the subjects of art and sociology. The sculpture was noticed by Dr. James Watson, Nobel Laureate and co discoverer of  DNA.  Dr. Watson invited me to exhibit  the sculpture in his home/laboratory in Cold Spring Harbor Long Island N.Y. I attached a photo below.

Also, my sculpture Achilles, has been published by the Royal College of Surgeons in Bahrain, Ireland , used as a cover for a study guide for the lower leg. The sculpture was chosen for its anatomical correctness.

   In 2019, I designed and built a bronze based piano in conjunction with Boesendorfer a premier piano maker in Vienna,  Austria. (they supplied the musical part, I designed the base and music rack) I have exhibited the piano in Austria, Japan, and most recently at Mar-A-Lago residence of former President Donald Trump.

  More recently, just before the Covid 19 pandemic, in a world wide -open competition,  I was awarded 1st and 2nd places for two memorials. The Memorials honor the Boys of Dozier otherwise known as the Florida Industrial School of Reform for Boys located in Marianna, Fla.

The school was the scene of atrocities against humanity for more than 8 decades.  The first memorial is completed, open to the public located on the Dozier School Campus. The Second Memorial will be placed in the Capital Plaza, in Tallahassee,Florida. Scheduled to be un-veiled in 2024. Preparation of the Memorial site in the  Capital Plaza, was delayed due to Covid related issues.

Of all my accomplishments to date, the things I cherish the most are not the awards, of which i can't even remember, or the generous commissions I have received.  What matters to me is being noticed by upcoming generations, having been the subject of term papers, my work being included in middle school school text books in foreign countries and course literature in some of our most prominent Universities.

   As a professional artist, if I can create one sculpture that speaks to everyone who sees it, to create a work of art that crosses race, gender, and all the things we put between ourselves to make sure we don't get too close to one another, if I can do that just once in all the sculptures I have made or will make, regardless of how much money I make or don't make, my artistic life will have been worth living.

I have spent countless hours studying from live models and literally wearing out the pages of  art and anatomy books. "Sculpture has been my life long passion- To not be confined to what I can see in a model before me but rather have the command to create what I know. This is the essence of a good sculptor."