Now, is Frank Plant a designer, a sculptor, a muralist, who knows? He may just have touched upon the slimmest of niches not seen before, or at least not for quite a while. Creating pieces that jiggle between the second and third dimension, Plant works from an industrial unit in Barcelona, forging steel line drawings with gusto and from the stir he’s causing on the net, I’m sure the guy is selling very well by now. Originally born in Baltimore MD, and raised in Washington DC amongst other cities, since 1999 he’s chosen Barcelona as the creative hub for his artistic industry, and judging by the reams of interior design blogs and sites promoting his work I have a feeling he’s as popular both sides of the Atlantic.

His subject matter ranges from the banal to the urbane, the everyday to the politically subversive, and always, or nearly always infused with a delightful sense of humour. Frank Plant is a fine example of an artist who truly enjoys his craft, his portfolio is as exuberant as they come, with reliefs featuring everything from guns to sneakers to historical events to visual humour, and yet there is a weight, asides that of steel to his art that surpasses everyday pieces normally championed by the mainstream of interior designers. Since 2000 he has taught at Metafora Tallers de Art Contemporani in Barcelona. His work is in private and public collections throughout Europe and North America.

Having exhibited his work in a wide variety of solo and group shows at many of Europe’s foremost contemporary galleries such as Tacheles in Berlin, Galeria Contrast and ADN Galeria in Barcelona, Zaum Projects in Lisboa, Another Space in Holland, Mad is Mad in Madrid, and many more, he is becoming an old hand at the exhibition circuit. It’s easy to see why Plant’s work is so popular, it’s novel, both in concept and process, it’s ideologically accessible across a broad range of the arts market and ever so slightly subversive which must give him a thrill as his work is purchased and displayed by collectors and galleries who are for the most part movers and shakers in the industry.

I like what Plant does, I don’t love it, but I appreciate the technique, the forms he produces, his ouevre provides a cultural segway between street art and murals and contemporary and interior design. I just wish there was more to it, conceptually it lacks something, perhaps I need to be challenged more, perhaps it’s time to venture further towards 3D, and just maybe the subject matter could be a tad more controversial. Who knows, it could simply be my personal taste, what I do know is that these hieroglyphics of the future should spell out something more than urbanism, cultural ephemera, and political conflict. The overall theme of his work might become clearer in time, I’m not sure, I just hope that Frank Plant expands his horizons and searches deeper for inspiration in the years to come. Check out his blog at www.hierroglyphic.blogspot.com and Flickr page.

This post is tagged Barcelona, Europe, Frank Plant, hieroglyphics, interior design, sculpture, street art