Francisco Souto is a Venezuelan-born American artist known for his highly detailed drawings and prints. He received his BFA from the Herron School of Art and an MFA from The Ohio State University. He is the Willa Cather Professor of Art in the Department School of Art & Art History and Design at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, USA where he also serves as Director of the School of Art, Art History & Design.

The artist’s most recent accolade includes participation in the 60th iteration of the vaunted Venice Biennale (2024) in a section curated by the European Cultural Centre entitled Personal Structures. He was awarded The Lorenzo il Magnifico Award at the Florence International Biennial of Contemporary Art and was included in the exhibition State of the Art 2020: Discovering American Art Now at the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art. Other honors include more than 45 national and international awards and grants including a Special Prize at the 7th International Triennial of Prints in Japan, a Selected Prize at the 12th International Biennial of Prints and Drawing in China, and the International Award at the British International Print Exhibition.

Souto’s meticulous, allegorical, colored-pencil drawings bear witness to the socio-political and economic conditions eroding Venezuela while also addressing our collective experience of human suffering and perseverance. They beckon you in with their gem-like colors, photo-realism, and quiet representation of fading flowers, cairn-like arrangements of stones, dead birds, and discarded clothing.

Souto has been an artist-in-residence at many national and international venues including: Helsinski Academy of Fine Art, Finland; MuseoGrabado, Mexico; University of Texas at Austin; Columbus College of Art and Design, Ohio; and Anderson Ranch Arts Center, Colorado. His prints and drawings have been published in many catalogs, magazines, and books including Drawing Magazine, Printmaking Today, International Magazine of Contemporary Graphic Art, and Printmaking: A Complete Guide to Materials & Processes, published by Prentice Hall and The Mezzotint: History and Technique, published by Schiffer Publishing.

Souto’s work has been exhibited in over 85 venues in the last 15 years including at Fonds d’Art Moderne et Contemporain, France; New York International Print Fair; Works on Paper, New York City; and The Armory Center for the Arts in California. He participated in the exhibition Epicenter/Epicentro: Re Tracing the Plains, on the occasion of the Venice Biennale’s 54th International Arts Exhibition in Venice, Italy. His work is held in several public and private collections including the Indianapolis Museum of Art, National Taiwan Museum of Art, Sheldon Museum of Art, Blanton Museum of Art, Wichita Museum of Art, The Romania National Museum of Art, the Lakeview Museum of Art and the Till Richter Museum of Contemporary Art, Germany.

Francisco Souto

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