The Haute Bohemian Painter On the Beats, Peter Brant and The Pleasures of Burnt Out Buildings.
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Francesco Clementemoved to New York City in 1980 from Italy and established a studio in the then-desolate Noho.
Affable and soft-spoken, Clemente was as impeccably dressed as ever.
Tell me about the exhibition.The exhibition is called Works 19782018.
Its a wonderful exercise.
I told [Peter Brant] he has a very specific view of what I make.
He said, Im just looking for the best works.
I feel there is a relationship with all the works, but he will not admit that.
What is the relationship?I think he is going after the more lyrical side of my work.
Im comfortable with that.
Its nice to show some pages that make sense together.
I work best on commission.
I work best when the situation is the opposite of when someone says Do whatever you want.
Im not a fan of that situation.
My job is not to want.
I love to be proved wrong.
What are the pieces that Peter chose?The exhibition space is a very specific space.
Each of the rooms has a very unique character.
Its very, very tactile and intimate.
Tiny, tiny works.
The room full of light will have what you call in New York the big time paintings.
There is a wonderful narrative of constructing and undoing and lifting and plunging.
There is a broken heart, and a heart that is being cut away.
There is a tent there.
The tent was made in Rajasthan.
It showed inMASS MoCA.
And two or three huge frescoes.
There are two enormous watercolors that I made in 2011 calledHistory of the Heart.
But the keys to everything are the frescoes.
I paint in clean layers.
I paint without going back.
Theres a beautifulCharlie Parkerquote.
He says, Play the pretty notes and play it clean.
My two favorite quotes about painting come from the music world.
The other one is by Martin Feldman: When a composer hesitates, he becomes immortal.
So, for me, the hesitation is key.
Waiting is everything, of course.
I prefer to read than to watch.
The letters are the seed that leads to the generation of the idea.
The letters also inhabit parts of your body.
Its all from the classic texts of the family of traditions.
I studied Sanskrit.Its so beautiful.
Sanskrit is a kind of language where your posture counts.
If you want to pronounce it properly, you have to sit straight.
In India, the senses are not a bad thing.
They are a gate to higher knowledge where you eventually bypass all the senses.
I dont know how we all found each other in New York back then.
No one had phones.
It was empty and very beautiful.
See how beautiful New York is?
and we were standing in front ofa burned-out building.
This is what we thought was beautiful then.
Im just quoting Stendhal.
There was more magic in New York when it wasnt so crowded.
But, Im not taking a side on this question of New York.
New York is still a knowledgeable city.
And we just did it.
I say we because it was me and Raymond Foye.
We published [Willem]de Koonings collected writings I dont think there is anyone else who published this.
They are just brilliant and wonderful writings.
And then weve published Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, Robert Creeley, and Rene Ricard.
Im very proud of these books.
This is the universe I love to inhabit.
Im not a poet.
Im a painter, but I love the stance of the poet.
I also love the fact that the poet only speaks if he has something to say.
Otherwise, he just doesnt say anything.
I just love that.
Its very hard not to speak.
And they were also reflective of my America.
When I thought of America when I was growing up, I thought of them.
I was a little surprised to encounter the other reality.
Once you got here, it wasnt what you thought it would be?No.
You think America is a very exotic place if you dont live here.
You have to live here a long time before it becomes penetrable.
It seems so accessible but it really isnt accessible.
I dont think its accessible at all.
I still believe in the America I loved as a teenager.
I still believe in Emerson, Thoreau, Ginsberg, and all the rebels and mystics.
America is a mystical place.
It may sound paradoxical, but it is a mystical place.
The land is a mystical place.
If you start walking from New York and go west, the land is so soulful.
So everything will be okay.
Did you take a lot of road trips?I used to.
Texas is so beautiful.
I drove from San Francisco to Las Vegas.
I drove from New York to New Mexico.
From L.A. to New York.
From Taos to New Orleans.
My assistant was arrested once for having a spliff in Indiana.
I had to go find a bail bondsman.
But I wont be quoted saying bad things about Middle America.
It is a land full of spirit and mysterious things.
In Europe, you are always driving north and south.
Its a very different experience of light than you get in Europe.
You grew up in Naples.
Not so long ago, a very dangerous city.Very dangerous.
But Italy was a great place to see American artists when I was growing up.
I sawCy Twomblys work when I was very young.
It had a huge impact on me.
It was related to antiquity, and he was turning around the equation.
For me, antiquity was such a weight, but for him it was a pair of wings.
He is a marvelous artist.
He is still up there for me.
A lot of artists were exhibiting in Italy before their time here.
I saw aRichard Serraexhibition before Richard Serra became Richard Serra.
There were such legendary moments.Rauschenbergshowed there in Italy and got a negative review.
My gallerist,Sperone, brought to Europe paintings byJasper JohnsandWarholin 1962.
I got to see all that.
We had a very up-to-date confrontation with America.
It was a golden age of American art.
