Biographical
profile

RRienus Gundel Franciscus (1967, Dordrecht, the Netherlands) lives and works in Amsterdam. He started his career in 1985 as a junior window dresser, stylist, and visual merchandiser for a Dutch high-end department store, ‘De Bijenkorf’. He designed monumental spaces, window displays, and stands and made visual concepts, for both fashion and interior departments in the Netherlands.

After 7 years with them, he continued doing similar activities for other companies. Sometimes under contract but also as a freelancer. After some years he worked as an assistant costume & stage designer for various decor & theatre productions.

While working on his visual retail concepts in the 90s, Rienus Gundel Franciscus came into contact with the computer, digital media, and its features. Through various training sessions and a lot of trial and error, he became very knowledgeable with graphic computer designing software, e.g., Adobe and Office software. Subsequently, he worked as an all-around art director and graphic designer, not only focusing on commercial design but also working with lay-outs for magazines and newspapers, package-, logo- and marketing design, and corporate identities. He also gained expertise in image manipulation with the early Photoshop.

Since 2012, he has also worked as a visual artist together with his husband; painter Frans Franciscus (1959, Utrecht, the Netherlands). They form a duo under the name Franciscus & Franciscus. They have worked together on several art projects and on a growing series of photographic portraits that are exhibited in galleries and Museums in the Netherlands and abroad. In 2015, they received a travel grant from the Dutch Mondriaan Fund for 4 months in Curaçao. To extend their series with portraits of characteristic (Afro) Caribbean people. In addition to his previous accomplishments,

Rienus Gundel Franciscus has also ventured into designing for gallery spaces and exhibitions in Museum W. His work has extended to curating and creating visual concepts for museum displays. Moreover, Rienus has recently developed an interest in Artificial Intelligence, particularly in the field of creating new images. He is currently exploring this exciting new journey with Midjourney, aiming to delve into the endless creative possibilities offered by AI technology.