Francisco Souto was born in Venezuela, and received a BFA from Herron School of Art in 2000 and an MFA from The Ohio State University in 2002. His honors include more than 45 national and international awards and grants including Special prize at the 7th International Triennial of Prints in Japan, selected prize at the 12th International Biennial of Prints and Drawing in China and the International Award at the British International Print Exhibition. He has been artist-in-residence in many national and international venues including: Helsinski Academy of Fine Art, Finland; Anderson Ranch Arts Center, USA; Museo Grabado, Mexico; University of Texas at Austin and Cradle Oak Press, IL. His prints and drawings have been published in many catalogs, magazine and books including Printmaking today: International magazine of contemporary graphic art, published in the UK and Printmaking: A complete guide to materials & processes, published by Prentice Hall. Souto’s work has been exhibited in over 80 venues in the last 9 years including the Fonds d’Art Moderne et Cotemporain, France; New York International Print Fair, Works on paper New York City and The armory Center for the Arts in California. His work is held in several public and private collections including the Indianapolis Museum of Art, National Taiwan Museum of Art, Sheldon Museum of Art, Blanton Museum of Art, The Romania National Museum of Art, and the Lakeview Museum of Art. Just this year he participated in the exhibition Epicenter/Epicentro: Re Tracing the Plains, on the occasion of the Venice Biennale 54th International Arts Exhibition in Venice, Italy.
HYBRID PRINTS: Traditional mezzotint and digital technology combined.
Over the last few years I have concentrated my investigation in creating multilayered prints that combine digital abstractions with handmade illusionistic representation. My current work combines traditional 16th mezzotint copper printing technique with new state-of-the-art digital technology. This new hybrid combination enables me to create a much larger and ambitious series of prints that investigate the role of handmade work in today's technological world. The idea of combining opposite visual languages allows me to make a new series of highly complex and large format “hybrid” prints, which raise important issues concerning printmaking as a process for analysis of contemporary visual options in my work. This hybrid combination creates a place where the real and implied space confronts and challenges each other. Aesthetically, the work takes fundamentally opposed visual philosophies and places them in a charged hybrid environment.