Armet Francis: Humanity – Insight – Compassion
MORLEY COLLEGE GALLERY NORTH KENSINGTON
Wornington Road, London W10 5QQ
March 2026
An exhibition of renowned photographer Armet Francis’s little known paintings which he started after his return from travels in Jamaica and North America in 1973. Working in a studio in London, Francis took up painting using acrylics for a period of about ten years. During this period, alongside his photography, Francis experimented in his studio using a wide variety of styles, colour palettes and surfaces. As with his famed photographs, Africa and the Black diaspora are the driving force behind the paintings which extend beyond the representational logic of photography into the vortex of abstraction and experiments with colour.
The title of the exhibition is derived from the artist’s celebrated concept of ‘The Black Triangle’ which he says was “…arrived at through a simple principle – Humanity – Insight – Compassion. The triangle first came to me in thoughts of the slave trade route, that is how I came to live in the triangle: Africa, the Americas and Europe. I had to capture it through my camera, through my work … A man reacting to his destiny.”
This is the first public showing of these previously unseen paintings since they were created in the 1970s.
Text: Professor Paul Goodwin (Chelsea College of Art, UAL)
Curator: Ron Best
A longer text and interview with the artist will be available during the exhibition.
OPENING TIMES
FRIDAY 6 | 12-4PM
SATURDAY 7 | 12-4PM
FRIDAY 13 | 12-4PM
SATURDAY 14 | 12-4PM
*OPEN ON SELECT TUESDAY AND THURSDAY EVENINGS FOR LATE EVENTS (DETAILS BELOW)
Events & Workshops
Two early evening events to bring you closer to the art and the artist
TUESDAY 10TH MARCH | 6-8.30pm
PRIVATE VIEW
Open to all
THURSDAY 12TH MARCH | 6-8.30pm
ARTIST TALK
Open to all, a conversation between Armit Francis and the local cultural commentator and arts critic, Joy May.
