Join artists Arthur Francietta and Hunter Saxony III for a conversation on writing systems and the fluid relationship between historical traditions, present-day experience, and future possibilities. Francietta — a graphic designer, typographer, and artist — explores symbolic and ancient visual languages to connect cultural heritage with forward-looking design. Saxony, an ornamental calligrapher, uses traditional techniques to tell personal stories and explore themes of justice, identity, and mortality through the art of the letterform. Both their work investigates how handwritten script or characters can carry deeper cultural meaning and memory. Together, they’ll discuss their research, creative processes, and the many layers of meaning embedded in script to reveal how writing systems can serve as both a personal and cultural mirror.
Presented in collaboration with Villa Albertine
About the Artists
Hunter Saxony III is a solitary figure in a historic tradition, often referred to with a bittersweet irony as “The Last Black Calligrapher in San Francisco.” Born in 1981, his self-made mastery was shaped by both the discipline of historical script and the raw energy of Metal and Hip-hop. His art is a complex, almost architectural blend of abstract forms and text, a direct confrontation with the weight of mortality, identity, and preservation. His canvases are defined by a signature stark palette of red and black brushstrokes, a duality reflecting both the lifeblood and shadow of his own experiences. Forged over years of self-instruction, he mastered the minute intricacies of lettering and flourishing. This technical prowess is a demanding tool that allows him to dismantle the expected boundaries of calligraphy, demonstrating a fierce commitment to both technical mastery and a continuous, self-aware evolution. He is represented by Eleanor Harwood Gallery.
Arthur Francietta navigates the fractured horizon between glyph and writing system, drawing from the sedimented languages of the Caribbean’s complex societies to craft speculative alphabets for futures yet to be spoken. Born in Martinique, his work unfolds at the intersection of proto-writing, archive, and digital design, where the line is not only graphic but divinatory. Trained in Paris at École Estienne and the Atelier National de Recherche Typographique, he later joined the Missing Scripts project at UC Berkeley where he sought out minority and forgotten writing systems. His signs emerge from Caribbean and African graphic traditions; symbols that resist silence and summon relation. He is a 2025 laureate of Villa Albertine.