Derek Boshier Cascades Over the Decades
Prints from 1962 –– 2014 October 2018
43a Duke Street St. James’s London SW1Y 6DD + 44 (0)20 7930 5111 gallery@simsreed.com www.gallery.simsreed.com
Derek Boshier Cascades Over the Decades
Prints from 1962 –– 2014 October 2018
“I just had to write and tell yo that has just been published. Y the decades and is utterly real
ou how much I love the book Your work really cascades over l and convincing.”
–– David Bowie
Introduction Sims Reed Gallery is delighted to present a selection of prints and works on paper by the inimitable British pop artist Derek Boshier. For the first time, Boshier’s prints are brought together and celebrate his enduring passion for printmaking. Boshier received recognition early in his career as a British Pop artist. In 1997, he moved to Southern California. After living in London, India, Houston and Somerset, Boshier has made Los Angeles his home for more than twenty years. He works across diverse media, including prints, drawings, paintings, collages and video. In his printmaking, he has turned to linocut, screenprinting, lithography and etching, incorporating collage and photographic elements. His work draws inspiration from media, popular culture and contemporary social and political issues. References to pop culture are ever present, including icons of American consumer culture, big brand logos, music icons and art historical references. The dynamism, innovation and energy in his work are palpable. The popularity of Boshier’s work among music icons such as David Bowie and The Clash have brought his work to a wider audience. He and Bowie first met in 1979, though they already had mutual appreciation of each other’s work before even meeting. The pair collaborated on Bowie’s album cover for Lodger in the same year and the musician’s appreciation of Boshier’s art only grew. In late 2015, Bowie emailed Boshier to say how much he enjoyed reading the artist’s 6
monograph, Rethink/Re-Entry, and said that his work ‘really cascades down the decades’. That was their last communication. We thought that the title of our project with Boshier would be a touching tribute to his long-standing friendship with Bowie and a fitting description of his work over the years.
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Untitled Gouache on paper, 1962. Signed and dated in pencil. 45.4 x 60.3 cm
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Untitled Gouache on paper, 1962. Signed and dated in pencil. 60.3 x 45.4 cm
Plan I Lithograph and screenprint, 1972. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, an artist’s proof. 54.2 x 79.7 cm
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Plan II Lithograph and screenprint, 1972. Signed, dated and titled in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, an artist’s proof. 54.6 x 80 cm 11
An impression of both these editions is in the collection of the Tate, London.
F.E. Etching with photo-etching, 1973. Signed, dated and titled in pencil, numbered from the edition of 20. 63 x 48 cm
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The Meetings Lithograph with black and white Polaroid photograph and string collage, 1973. Signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 30. 58.6 x 79.8 cm 13
An impression of both these editions is in the collection of the Tate, London.
Artist Photolithograph with photo collage, 1975. Signed, dated and titled in pencil, numbered from the edition of 50. 56.6 x 78.2 cm The print presents a dichotomy between how the public might perceive the artist in his studio and the esoteric language of art criticism.
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Public Palette Lithograph with photo collage, 1977. Signed, dated and titled in pencil, inscribed ‘AP’. One of four artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 50. 55.7 x 82.7 cm
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The inspiration behind this print came from adverts from a Times supplement (John Constable plates), The Sunday People (relating to Picasso) and a guide to playing tennis. The Polaroid photographic collage depicts one of Boshier’s former students.
Lodger Black ink on paper, 1979. Signed and dated in ink. 35.5 x 27.6 cm
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David Bowie Black ink on paper with photo collage, 1979. Signed and dated in ink. 32.3 x 25 cm
The Man Falling, Houston, Texas Black ink on paper, 1984. Signed and dated in ink. 28 x 35.5 cm
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Rodeo Lithograph, 1986. From the series Celebrate Texas. Signed in pencil, inscribed ‘AP’. An artist’s proof aside from the edition of 75. Printed by Peregrine Press, Dallas. Published by Pepsi-Cola Bottling Group. 76.2 x 57 cm
New York Times Leisure Section Linocut, 1997 Signed, dated and titled in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, an artist’s proof aside from the edition of 65. 106 x 71.6 cm
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New York Times Financial Section Linocut, 2014. Signed and dated in pencil, numbered from the edition of 30. 106 x 71.2 cm
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Both of these prints were originally conceived as being part of a larger series depicting the different supplements of The New York Times.
Gymnastics Screenprint, 2002. Signed in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, one of 10 artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 60. 50 x 70 cm
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Football Screenprint, 2002. Signed in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, one of 10 artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 60. 50 x 70 cm
Basketball Screenprint, 2002. Signed in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, one of 10 artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 60. 70 x 50 cm
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Circle Screenprint, 2000. Signed and dated in pencil. Inscribed ‘AP’, one of 7 artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 60. Published by the Royal College of Art, London. 33 x 33 cm
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This print was made as part of a project organised by the Royal College of Art involving the work of RCA graduates and visiting tutors, to contribute to and support the Printmaking Appeal Fund.
Al Kimbol Looks at an Apple The Political Argument I Know She’s Right Man Looking at Paul Klee Patriotism –– Father of War Day for Night (From left to right, top to bottom) Six etchings with aquatint, 2011. Each signed in pencil, inscribed ‘AP’. Artist’s proofs aside from the edition of 40. Printed by Huguenot Editions, London. Published by the artist. Each 33.5 x 40 cm Available for sale individually.
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Biography Derek Boshier (b. 1937, Portsmouth, UK) first came to prominence with his paintings as a student at the Royal College of Art in London, where his fellow students included David Hockney, Allen Jones and R. B. Kitaj and others. Embracing the iconography of British and American consumer culture, his work earned him recognition as one of the pioneering British Pop painters of the 1960s. Boshier has been shown extensively in the US and Europe, including group exhibitions at The Whitechapel Art Gallery (London), The Walker Art Center (Minneapolis) the Kunstmuseum Wolfsburg, (Germany) and The Kimbell Art Museum (Fort Worth). His work is in the collections of The Menil Collection (Houston, Texas), The Tate (London), The British Museum (London), the Museum of Modern Art (New York) and The Centre Pompidou (Paris), among many other institutions. He lives and works in Los Angeles. With thanks to Daniel Bee for his support and collaboration of this project.
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Sims Reed Gallery 43a Duke Street St. James’s London, SW1Y 6DD t + 44 (0)20 7930 5111 f + 44 (0)207 925 0825 gallery@simsreed.com www.gallery.simsreed.com