Francie Rich

The Dossier

A file on the artist, redacted where necessary.

person

Artist portrait

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"I paint, John cooks, and somehow it all works out."

brush The Process

Painting is a form of self-medication. I dream in gold leaf and draw directly on my phone. I like faces—people, dictators, dogs, cats. I paint from obituaries, mug shots, and photos snapped from the television.

The gold leaf costs approximately $███ per sheet but it's cheaper than ██████.

favorite The Partnership

I am happily married to artist John Hodge, and we both agree I got the better end of the deal. He cooks, I mow. I allow him to be the little girl his mother wouldn't let him be, and he allows me to dig holes in the yard.

We organize and lead European tours. We think we are a very clever couple. Our tour guide license was ████████.

psychology The Philosophy

My exuberance and zest for life is matched only by my bountiful lethargy, ennui, and abundant capacity for run-on sentences.

I married my father and John married his crazy Aunt Sadie. The four of us are tripping the light fantastic—even though two of us are ████.

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Hypo-Slavic Realism

The Only Art Movement That Matters (According to Us)

"A stylistic period that relies on gold leaf and models whose vocabulary does not include the words 'self-esteem'."

— Stanko Stribog, founder and only known proponent. October 4, 2008.

My work is the prime example—and the only example—of this movement. Never ones to pander to the masses, our work is non-denominational (meaning it offends all denominations) with no political leanings to the right or left.

We have offended the very people we've painted: high society, royalty, babies, media personalities, relatives, friends, and the dead.

warning

We have been denounced and legally threatened. That's how we roll, and the reason we have the largest collection of our own art.

The Official Record

school Education

  • BFA
    Minneapolis College of Art and Design
  • Studies Abroad
    Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam
  • MFA
    California College of the Arts

military_tech Grants & Fellowships

  • Artist-in-Residence Fellowship Grant
    Roswell Museum and Art Center, NM
  • Services to the Field Grant
    NEA & Contemporary Arts Center, New Orleans
  • Visual Arts Fellowship
    Southern Arts Federation / NEA
  • Artist Fellowship
    SECCA, Winston-Salem, NC

Collections

Work held in permanent collections

museum

New Orleans Museum of Art

New Orleans, LA

museum

Ogden Museum of Southern Art

New Orleans, LA

museum

Ewing Gallery of Art

University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN

museum

Residency Collection

Gallery 409, Roswell, NM

water

Aquarium of the Americas

New Orleans, LA

apartment

Prudential Life Insurance

Newark, NJ

diamond

Frederick R. Weisman

Los Angeles, CA

diamond

Laila and Thurston Twigg-Smith

Honolulu, HI

diamond

Ann Barnett

New Orleans, LA

hotel

Sheraton Hotel

New Orleans, LA

hotel

The Southern Hotel

Covington, LA

gavel

McGlinchey, Stafford, Minz, Cellini and Lang

New Orleans, LA

movie

Ted Schachter, MGM-UA Telecommunications, Inc.

Culver City, CA

flare

In Memoriam

Deborah Gail Rich

August 6, 1949 — May 31, 2014

"Deborah deserved a cool obituary, because many facets of her life sucked."

Deb died of a massive heart attack in Berkeley, California. Never on time in her life, she was out of here in short order. A woman of many talents—playing guitar, piano, writing music, and singing—she lived a life defined by obstacles she met with a social spirit and a deep capacity for helping others.

She was born six months premature, weighing precisely one ounce. Her sister Penny would carry her around in her pocket; consequently, Deborah was often covered in lint. Penny’s heart hurt from so much love when Deborah was born, as it hurts now that she is gone.

Deborah was a professional worrier. She knew to start worrying the moment a hurricane entered the Gulf of Mexico, begging Francie and John and the dogs to leave. She kept watch over blizzards in the Midwest, worrying for Penny and her family. She had a difficult life and once told Francie if she came back, she hoped it wouldn’t be so hard. Through it all, she blamed no one.

Survived by sister Penny Galinson and family, and her immediate family: John Hodge, the Most Reverend Otis Omero Crawford, and Sweet Tea Booger Johnson.

The Other Half of the Reliquary

John Hodge - Painted by Francie Rich
John Hodge Pottery He makes the bowls. I make the drama.
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