 Complete the following phrase:  Francis was born in Newtownards, Northern Ireland and studied painting at St. Martins School of Art 198085 before going on to the Chelsea School of Art where he completed his Master of Arts in painting in 1986. Francis has exhibited internationally both individually and in group exhibitions. Indeed, his practice over the past thirty years has focused on making paintings with singular optical intensity  powerful, apparently abstract combinations of concentrated patterning and stark colour contrasts. As an emerging artist in 1995, Francis was involved in The Adventure of Painting at Kunstverein DüsseldorfStuttgart, Germany and From Here at the Karsten SchubertWaddington Galleries in London. These shows were pivotal in questioning the role of contemporary painting both in Europe and the UK which consequently led Francis to show in prestigious exhibitions such as IMMA Glenn Dimplex Award exhibition Irish Museum of Modern Art 1996, Absolute Vision; New British Painting in the 1990s Museum of Modern Art Oxford 1996 and the infamous 