Couple Télurier, 1953

Ruth Francken (1924-2006) was a Czech-American sculptor, painter and furniture designer. Born in Prague in 1926, Francken’s life and career spanned across two continents, and more than half a dozen countries (amongst them France, Italy, Germany, and the United States…) After studying painting from 1939-1940 at the Ruskin School in Oxford, England, she continued her formation/training at the Art Students League of New York. She became an American citizen in 1942, working in the United States as a textile designer until 1949, when she returned to Europe. After spending two years in Venice (1950-1952), she moved to Paris, where she lived until her death in 2006. Initially considered as an Abstract Expressionist, Ruth Francken's early career pivoted in 1964 when she began creating object sculptures, collages, and utilising various textiles and techniques. Her art increasingly moved towards surrealism, fused with the pop-art aesthetic of the period. Communication and disconnection were amongst her favourite themes. Her most renowned artwork "Homme" (1970), through which she achieved widespread recognition, is a sculpture whereby the body of a seated man, cast in polyester, itself forms a chair. Her work was featured in the 2016 exhibition at Tate Modern, London, "The World Goes Pop."