Houston 10, Sitting just in the middle of the traffic (1982)

Houston 10

When Franco came back to Europe after the 1980 America’s Cup experience and his stay in the USA, he was still full of impressions. In his atelier in Scheveningen he started a series of originals of Houston. All the originals were then shown at the Rice University of Houston and Dallas. Two paintings of this series, Houston Shoe hospital (1982) and Houston 10, Il cazzo (1981) got lost in the fire when his complete exhibition burnt in the wooden Societetshuset in Lysekil, Sweden (1985).

Houston 10, Sitting just in the middle of the traffic (1982)

“To be able to paint this picture from this perspective, I had to lie down on the street in the middle of a business district (not during rush hour, of course) to get the right feeling for it. My friend was horrified by my plan and tried to dissuade me, but I had to do it for myself, and I got through it unscathed – a very special experience. Impressed by my finished picture, he confessed to me that he had learnt to see the sky consciously.”

• Houston 10 Arte Vita (1981)
• Houston 10, Il cazzo (1981)
• Houston 10, Reflections (1982)
• Houston 10, Reflections Skyscraper (1982)
• Houston 10, Shoe Hospital (1982)
• Houston 10, Sitting just in the middle of the traffic (1982)
• Houston 10, 1981 (1981)