about the artist

Francis Dot is a research-based multidisciplinary artist and craftsman whose current work includes assemblage sculpture, collage, printmaking, and short fiction.

Dot draws visual and thematic elements from a wide range of interests such as catholic iconography and mythology, histories of weaponry and war, and speculative and science fiction writing. His artistic practice is an embodiment of curiosity and is guided by their urge to find patterns and connections between seemingly disparate points.

His deep relationship to and background in traditional craft manifests in their practice as rigorous experimentation with a wide range of materials, tools, and processes. Dot considers the found materials he works with on a molecular level; in both a literal, chemical sense, and in the metaphorical or symbolic sense of imagining the past lives of objects. The artist layers materials and concepts to create a prism, bending familiar stories and representations into unfamiliar types of light, uncovering hidden connections and relationships. 

Francis Dot earned his BFA from Oregon College of Art and Craft in Portland, Oregon, in 2010 with a focus on ceramic sculpture. After over a half decade hiatus in art making, Francis returned to his practice in 2019. Dot has had the privilege of exhibiting his work in two person and group shows at Carnation Contemporary (Portland, OR), Astoria Visual Arts (Astoria, OR), and Heaven Gallery (Chicago, Il). In 2024 he became a member of chimaera/project and is currently creating an archive of interviews with trans and youth artists involved in this collective and the wider community.

He works as a house cleaner, yard worker, odd jobber, and periodically teaches art workshops. When he’s not working, Francis can often be found collecting plant matter and sparkling, aqua colored shards of broken safety glass from city sidewalks.