F I N E A R T P R I N T FA I R 2 0 1 7 S U SA N S H E E H A N GA L L E RY
S U SA N S H E E H A N GA L L E RY 136 E 16th St New York, NY 10003 212.489.3331 info@susansheehangallery.com www.SusanSheehanGallery.com
On the cover: Willem de Kooning
Litho #1 (Waves #1), 1960 Lithograph Sheet size: 45 15/18 x 31 15/18 inches Edition of 8 Signed and dated in pencil
F I N E A R T P R I N T FA I R October 26th-29th, 2017 JAVITS CENTER River Pavilion 655 W 34th St - 11th Ave at 35th St New York
Booth #200 Show Hours Thursday – Saturday, 12:00 – 8:00 pm Sunday, 12:00 – 6:00 pm Opening Night Preview by Invitation Wednesday, 5:00 – 9:00 pm
www.ifpda.org/print_fair
Facing: The coverpage for Marshall McLuhan’s book, The Medium is the Message. The title was a misprint that stuck. McLuhan loved the mistake and believed it fit perfectly with the theme of the book. UK edition, 1967.
Bill Goldston, Tatyana Grosman, Juda Rosenberg, Jasper Johns, and James V. Smith in front of the Union Avenue shop, where ULAE printed from 1970-2002.
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE In the mid-1960s, Marshall McLuhan introduced the now famous adage, “the medium is the message.” He supposed that the manner in which information is presented is more important than the information itself. Having a direct effect on the media and advertising strategies of the 1960s, this was also the period of the socalled “American print renaissance.” This formative period saw the expansion of printing workshops including those of Tamarind, Gemini G.E.L, Tyler Graphics Ltd., and ULAE. They were now capable of producing increasingly complicated prints and developed revolutionary techniques and materials that would expand what was possible within printmaking. This attracted artists of such stature as Josef Albers, Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, and Joan Mitchell who would take up these refined methods in a variety of media and collaborate with printers to convey their artistic messages. For the 2017 Fine Art Print Fair, Susan Sheehan Gallery is making a lighthearted reinterpretation of McLuhan’s adage by focusing on the medium of each print. We are presenting each individual print in relation to other artists’ work in the same printing technique. Examining the variety of printing types offers an interesting look into the practical foundations of printmaking and how the formalist tendencies of each medium can convey an artist’s message in distinctive and singular ways.
Richard Diebenkorn at Crown Point Press, San Francisco, circa 1980.
WASHED
aquatint [ak-wuh-tint] Noun 1. A process imitating the broad flat tints of ink or wash drawings by etching a mircroscopic crackle on the copperplate intended for printing. 2. An etching made by this process. Verb 3. To etch in aquatint
James Turrell
Still Light, 1989-90 Aquatints Sheet size: 42 1/2 x 29 7/10 inches Edition of 50 Each sheet is signed, dated, numbered, and titled in pencil The complete set of 8 prints.
David Hockney
Marguerites, 1973 Etching with aquatint Sheet size: 16 1/2 x 12 1/2 inches Edition of 100 Signed, dated, and numbered pencil
Facing: Vija Celmins signing Strata at Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 1983.
Robert Mangold
Five Aquatints, 1975 Etching with aquatint Sheet size: 9 x 9 inches Edition of 50 Each sheet is signed in pencil The complete set of 5 prints. The set retains its original linen-covered portfolio box.
Richard Diebenkorn
Touched Red, 1991 Aquatint Sheet size: 35 3/4 x 26 1/2 inches Edition of 85 Initialed and dated in pencil
Willem de Kooning’s Litho #1 (Waves #1) hanging to dry in Berkeley, 1960.
DRAWN
lithography [li-thog-ruh-fee] Noun 1. The art or process of producing a picture, writing, or the like, on a flat, specially prepared stone, with some greasy or oily substance, and of taking ink impressions from this as in ordinary printing. 2. A similar process in which a substance other than stone, as aluminum or zinc, is used.
Willem de Kooning
Litho #1 (Waves #1), 1960 Lithograph Sheet size: 45 15/18 x 31 15/18 inches Edition of 8 Signed and dated in pencil
In 1960 during a visit to the University of California at Berkeley, Willem de Kooning, in completely unpremeditated circumstances, made two huge and innovative lithographs. He had never made a lithograph prior to this. The artist was left alone with two lithographic stones, each nearly four feet high and in less than an hour, de Kooning created two images, this and another called Waves 2. They embody not just the artist’s forceful gestures of that afternoon, but also the immediacy and spontaneity that epitomize Abstract Expressionism. Each lithograph was printed in fewer than ten impressions and are represented in the collections of the Yale University Art Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Baltimore Museum of Art, and the Museum of Modern Art.
Vija Celmins
Untitled (Ocean), 1972 Lithograph Sheet size: 28 1/2 x 45 3/4 inches Edition of 65 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Facing: Ellsworth Kelly studying a color chart at Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 1983.
Ellsworth Kelly
Cyclamen II, 1964-65 Lithograph Sheet size: 35 5/8 x 24 1/4 inches Edition of 75 Signed and numbered in pencil
Ellsworth Kelly
Cyclamen IV, 1964-65 Lithograph Sheet size: 35 1/4 x 24 1/8 inches Edition of 75 Signed and numbered in pencil
Richard Diebenkorn
Seated Woman Drinking from a Cup, 1965 Lithograph Sheet size: 27 1/2 x 20 1/2 inches Edition of 100 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Facing: Jasper Johns working on a lithographic stone for his portfolio 0-9 at ULAE, Long Island, 1963.
Jasper Johns
Two Flags, 1980-81 Lithograph Sheet size: 47 1/2 x 36 inches Edition of 45 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Vija Celmins
Untitled (Desert), 1971 Lithograph Sheet size: 22 3/8 x 28 7/8 inches Edition of 65 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Wayne Thiebaud
Bow Ties, 1990 Lithograph Sheet size: 22 x 21 inches Edition of 50 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Facing: Bruce Nauman with printers at Cirrus Editions, Los Angeles, 1971.
Bruce Nauman
Malice, 1980 Lithograph Sheet size: 29 1/2 x 41 3/10 inches Edition of 75 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Facing: David Hockney drawing on a lithograph stone for The Weather Series at Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles, 1973.
David Hockney
Still Life with Book, 1973 Lithograph Sheet size: 32 x 25 inches Edition of 88 Signed, dated, and titled in blue pencil
Robert Rauschenberg
Stunt Man I, II, III, 1962 Lithograph Sheet size: 25 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches Varying edition sizes Each sheet is signed, dated, and numbered in pencil The complete series of 3 prints.
Bruce Nauman
Clear Vision, 1973 Lithograph Sheet size: 36 x 48 3/4 inches Edition of 50 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Facing: June Wayne at Tamarind Lithography Workshop, Albuquerque, 1968.
Josef Albers
WLS VI, 1966 Lithograph Sheet size: 20 3/4 x 20 3/4 inches Edition of 125 Signed, dated, numbered, and titled in pencil
Ellsworth Kelly
Blue Yellow Red, 1970 Lithograph Sheet size: 42 1/2 x 30 inches Edition of 75 Signed and numbered in pencil
Willem de Kooning
Minnie Mouse, 1971 Lithograph Sheet size: 29 7/8 x 22 1/2 inches Edition of 60 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Louise Bourgeois working on her printing press at home, New York, circa 1995.
Incised
etching [ech-ing] Noun 1. The act or process of making designs or pictures on a metal plate, glass, etc., by the corrosive action of an acid instead of by a burin. 2. An impression, as on paper, taken from an etched plate. 3. The design so produced. 4. A metal plate bearing such a design.
David Hockney
Rue de Seine, 1972 Etching and aquatint Sheet size: 35 x 28 inches Edition of 150 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Sol LeWitt
Straight Lines in Four Directions & All Their Possible Combinations, 1973 Etchings Sheet size: 10 1/5 x 10 1/5 inches Edition of 25 Each sheet is signed and numbered in pencil The complete set of 16 prints.
Brice Marden
Watsonville, 1963 Etching Sheet size: 8 2/5 x 5 4/5 inches Edition of 25 Signed, numbered, and titled in pencil
Facing: Joan Mitchell and Kenneth Tyler discuss trial proofs of her prints, Tyler Graphics Ltd., Mount Kisco, 1992.
Joan Mitchell
Gate, 1989 Etching with aquatint Sheet size: 14 3/8 x 29 1/4 inches Edition of 15 Signed and numbered in pencil
John Marin
Brooklyn Bridge, 1913 Etching Sheet size: 13 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches Edition of approximately 25 Signed in pencil
Brice Marden
Etchings to Rexroth, #15, 1986 Etching Sheet size: 19 1/2 x 16 inches Edition of 45 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Howard Cook
East River, 1928 Etching Sheet size: 7 1/4 x 11 1/4 inches Edition of 50, only 15 printed Signed in pencil
Roy Lichtenstein using an electric wood-chisel to carve a woodblock, Tyler Graphics Ltd., Mount Kisco, 1990.
CARVED
woodcut [woo d-kuht] Noun 1. A carved block of wood from which prints are made 2. A print of impression from such a block.
Roy Lichtenstein
Modern Head #1, 1970 Woodcut Sheet size: 24 x 19 inches Edition of 100 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Wayne Thiebaud
Dark Cake, 1983 Woodcut Sheet size: 20 1/2 x 22 1/2 inches Edition of 200 Signed, dated, and numbered pencil
Vija Celmins
Untitled (Ocean Woodcut), 1995 Woodcut Sheet size: 16 x 14 inches Edition of 47 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Howard Cook
Canyons, 1928 Woodcut Sheet size: 14 1/2 x 8 inches Edition of 50 Signed, dated, numbered, and titled in pencil
Fred Sandback’s studio set-up for carving linocut blocks, New York, 2003.
SCORED
linocut [lahy-nuh-kuht] Noun 1. A design cut in relief on linoleum mounted on a wooden block 2. A print made from such a design.
Fred Sandback
Mappe Mit 8, 1979 Linocut Sheet size: 13 3/4 x 13 3/4 inches Edition of 20 Each sheet is signed, dated, and numbered in pencil The complete set of 8 prints. The set retains its original linen-covered portfolio box.
Josef Albers
Fenced, 1944 Linocut Sheet size: 12 1/2 x 16 inches Edition of 30 Signed, dated, and titled in pencil
Fred Sandback
Untitled, 1976 Linocut Sheetsize: 14 x 19 inches Edition of 35 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Joan Mitchell at Tiber Press with Floriano Vecchi and Richard Miller, New York, late 1950’s.
STENCILED
screenprint [skreen-print] Noun 1. A printmaking technique in which a mesh cloth is stretched over a heavy wooden frame and the design, painted on the screen by tusche or affixed by stencil, is printed by having a squeegee force color through the pores of the material in areas not blocked out by a glue sizing. 2. A print made by this technique.
Andy Warhol
C: A Journal of Poetry, (Vol.1, No. 4), September 1963, 1963 Screenprint cover and mimeograph magazine Sheet size: 13 3/8 x 17 inches This screenprint, which was the front and rear cover for the fourth issue of C: A Journal of Poetry, marks the first known instance in which Andy Warhol utilized the technique of screenprinting. Warhol had recently learned the technique from Floriano Vecchi (pictured on the preceding page) of Tiber Press and first publicly applied it in this context. The issue featured text about Edwin Denby as well as actual writing by the poet and critic. Denby is portrayed on the cover alongside Gerard Malanga, a young art school graduate, who had recently become Warhol’s studio assistant responsible for the practical creation of many of Warhol’s seminal screenprint paintings. These portraits were created after Warhol’s Polaroids from a photography session with the pair and subsequently created quite the stir in literary circles upon their publication.
Andy Warhol
Marilyn, 1967 Screenprint Sheet size: 36 x 36 inches Edition of 250 Signed and stamp-numbered in ink
Josef Albers
Hommage au CarrĂŠ, 1965 Screenprint Sheet size: 19 x 15 1/8 inches Edition of 125 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Josef Albers
Emeraude, 1965 Screenprint Sheet size: 17 x 17 inches Edition of 50 Signed, dated, numbered, and titled in pencil
Facing: Andy Warhol and Gerard Malanga silkscreening one of Warhol’s Flowers paintings at The Factory, New York, 1965.
Andy Warhol
Flowers, 1970 Screenprint Sheet size: 36 x 36 inches Edition of 250 Signed and numbered
Jasper Johns
Cicada II, 1981 Screenprint Sheet size: 24 x 20 inches Edition of 50 Signed, dated, and numbered in pencil
Bruce Nauman
Studies for Holograms, 1970 Screenprint Sheet size: 22 1/4 x 18 1/4 inches Edition of 150 Each sheet is signed, dated, and numbered in pencil The complete set of 5 prints.
Tatyana Grosman examining a sheet of hand-made India paper used for Jasper Johns’s Flags and Targets, Long Island, 1969.
THE MEDIUM IS THE MESSAGE Specific information about which extrodinary printers and publishers helped create the artworks contained in this catalogue can be found on our website by following the link below. www.SusanSheehanGallery.com
SUSAN SHEEHAN GALLERY 136 East 16th Street New York, NY 10003 (t) 212-489-3331 (f) 212-489-4009 info@susansheehangallery.com www.susansheehangallery.com