School in the Square News

One of our favorite things about being at School in the Square is the opportunity to showcase incredible artists from right here in the Inwood and Washington Heights community. Right now, our lobby’s art gallery features work by Franck de las Mercedes, a Nicaraguan-born visual artist and poet who has called Washington Heights home for decades. His large-scale portraits and vivid, textured paintings have become a centerpiece of the space, and if you've walked through our doors, you've probably stopped to look.

We sat down with Franck to talk about his journey, his creative process, and the story behind the work hanging in our gallery. Here's what he shared.

You didn't start out as a visual artist. What came first?

"I was always involved in the arts as a whole. I come from a family of dancers, traditional dancers of Nicaragua, which is where I'm from. I was always exposed to the arts in that way. But when I was growing up, I wanted to be a musician. I played guitar since I was 15. My dream was to be in music and then in acting. I got to be active in both before evolving into visual arts."

When did visual art enter the picture?

"When I was in my twenties. Because of the war in Nicaragua and things that happened in my family. My art deals with migration and separation of family, disintegration of family through war, migration, or even loss, and how these affect family dynamics. I became really affected emotionally by a lot of what my mind started to show me. I kind of quit the music and the acting and became reclusive for a little bit, seeking help. And then I just picked up those cheap watercolors and the paper from a Duane Reade. And here I am."

Your gallery pieces have a powerful origin story. Can you share what happened?

"In 2014, our home and my studio burnt down. It was a total loss. I lost my life's work. Not a sketch was saved, not a book, not a journal, nothing. When I moved to Washington Heights and started painting again, I went back to the site and noticed there was charcoal left on the floor from the fire. I picked up the charcoal, mashed it, and put it into the black paint. I took the ashes and mixed them with the ink, and I began to do portraits."

What do you want people to feel when they see your work?

"I just want people to be stimulated. Even the people who go up to a painting and say, 'I absolutely hate this.’ If they've been stimulated by that work, my job is done.”

How do you know when a piece is finished?

"A piece is never finished. I think the audience finishes the painting. Art can be a mirror. It can be a look within for both the artist and the audience. It's very rewarding when people tell me, 'I know people like that,' or, 'That reminds me of someone.' They don't even need to go into the meaning. The fact that they connect with it, that's what matters."

Creative blocks. Have you been there? What advice would you give a student who's stuck?

"Recognize that a creative block is not always that you're not doing anything. A creative block is that you don't like what you're doing. And this is where discipline is really important. A lot of artists keep chasing inspiration, waiting for inspiration. That's a really romantic element of art, and it's beautiful and powerful. But your best friend is discipline. Inspiration comes and goes, and when the two join, it's magic. But when inspiration leaves again, you still have your discipline. 

What's the worst advice you've ever gotten about your art?

"The one-size-fits-all element for art. What works for one artist doesn't mean it's going to work for you. The worst kind of advice is when someone shows you, 'This is the meaning of success.' The reality is, as an artist, you define what success means to you. I'm a successful artist because I have the privilege to get up and make art. What more can I ask for? So the worst advice would be: get into this box, follow this trend, follow this path for it to work. It doesn't work that way, because there's a reason why different things work for different people."

Do you listen to music while you work?

"I can't work without music. I love '80s rock and metal. And then Latin, jazz. A pretty wide variety. I'm always listening to music. And if I'm in the middle of a book, I'll have the audiobook going while I work too. A lyric can send my mind all over the place. It's not necessarily affecting the work I'm doing in that moment, but I'm always listening. I'll hear something, a date or a reference, and I'll go research it. That becomes new information that can serve as reference for my work or even a title."

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Franck de las Mercedes' work is on display in our gallery at School in the Square on 12 Sherman Avenue. To learn more about Franck and his work, go here.