“I’m a painter by nature, almost biologically, but I’m also a painter by default, culturally, because I found out that a lot of what I want to convey to the world can only be told through image and not through words.”—Francesco Clemente

This richly illustrated volume documents Watchtowers, Keys, Threads, Gates, Francesco Clemente’s exhibition at Dallas Contemporary in 2019, curated by Peter Doroshenko. The large-scale installation presented there included a massive, site-specific fresco and two series of sculptures realized in the artist’s signature style. The overall dreamlike atmosphere was firmly in keeping with Clemente’s aesthetics and imaginary.

Through the winding waves murals––realized with the help of three Oaxacan artists––and the bodies of the sculptures––created over the past five years in collaboration with artisans in India––Clemente constructed a labyrinth of patterns and resonances made up of the elements enumerated in the title. Visitors entered his mythological universe and experienced full immersion in his ongoing research on gesture, knowledge, transition, and color.