Research Point: Contemporary Printmakers - Lino

Research point

Find a couple of contemporary printmakers whose work you like, and reflect on their techniques. How do they use lino? What sort of marks do they make? What could you learn from them?

I have done quite a lot of research here looking at a wide range of printmakers who use or used Lino in their work (not all of the artists I researched are contemporary). I do not intend to give an exhaustive account of every artist I looked at - I will include very brief comments on most but then talk in more detail about the artists to whose work I am drawn and which seems to have more direct relevance to whet I would like to do. 

Examples of linocuts by Picasso, Gertrude Hermes and Angie Lewin

• Picasso - very bold colourful use of the expanses of flat colour possible with Lino. Did he use multiple blocks as these are bold primary colours without evidence of other colours showing through.
• Gertrude Hermes (1901-1983). I particularly appreciate the variety of mark-making used to create texture - especially on the Stonehenge linocut.
• Angie Lewin (contemporary) - a very commercially successful printmaker. Main interest is horticulture. Stylised images of plants and nature. Extremely accomplished work but probably not directly relevant to my own interests.

Examples of linocuts by Arthur Homeshaw and Gail Brodholt

• Arthur Homeshaw  (1933-2011). Stylised landscapes with bold contrasts of colour and tone and very extensive patterning. A wide variety of mark making in evidence over the whole surface of the Lino. His work reminds me both of Paul Nash (especially the shapes of the trees) and Eric Ravilious for the mark making and patterning. I love the patterning and the complexity of this work but the subject matter doesn't interest me so much. 
• Gail Brodholt (contemporary). Her subject matter is very familiar and talks about life today. Depicts railway stations, commuters on trains and the underground as well as motorways. Exploits the full potential of the medium in the aspect of producing graphic images with areas of flat colour. Less so in terms of the variety of marks made. Her use of colour is wonderful. She really knows how to capture the atmosphere and light effects for example of train tracks at dusk or the artificial lighting on the tube. I can really picture myself in the environments she creates. I am ambivalent about this work. I love the colours and the fact that the work reflects life today but I am more drawn to work which uses lots of textural mark making and I seem to gravitate towards the monochrome. 

Examples of linocuts by H.J Jackson, Angela Cavalieri and Chuck Close

• H J Jackson (contemporary) creates hand pulled linocuts as he doesn't own a press. His prints are made on multiple blocks (an average of 8 prints from 6 blocks for each (1)). His subjects are often nautical. The multiple layers of ink add to a grainy texture which is suited to his subject matter of rusty machinery and peeling old boats. Again, I find this work impressive and accomplished but the subject matter doesn't interest me so much. 
• Angela Cavalieri (contemporary) Uses writing as a form of drawing on her large scale works. These are created on canvas using a combination of loco print and oil paint.

Chuck Close

I was already familiar with Chuck Close's large scale portraits which are painted using a grid (almost pixellated) structure. Patterns or circles and ovals of contrasting colours are painted into each square on the grid so the painting looks abstract when viewed close up but from a distance the patterns combine to give an average hue or tonal value and the painting reads as an almost photorealistic portrait. I have always admired this way of working. It seems to be almost an extension of the theories of the pointillists. 

I first discovered that Close had also experimented with printmaking when I visited "The American Dream - Pop to the Present" (2). A very large printmaking exhibition at the British Museum (more about this in a separate blog post). He has worked with a variety of printmaking media including mezzotint (on an incredibly ambitious scale), etching, woodcut and linocut. 

In the reduction Linocut Roy (Click for image online), the image is created using multiple layers of tonal values of grey and black. On each layer the carving is composed of multiple small marks rather than areas of flat tone. This treatment resolves into a grainy texture at a distance, which lends itself well to the wrinkled texture of the skin. 

In Lucas the marks are more linear and directional in nature which describes perfectly the texture of the hair and beard. 

I also found online, a site which shows step-by-step images of the creation of one of his linocuts Alex. The Lino was printed step by step onto mylar and used to create screen prints. Click here to view images of the process of creation. 

These are quite amazing prints and show just what is possible. There's certainly a lot that can be learnt from this. 

Chuck Close collaborates with master printmakers on his printmaking projects. He had 'an event' in 1988. A spinal artery collapsed, causing paralysis from the neck down. He has regained movement but is still significantly disabled so probably would not have the dexterity to carve the Lino himself. This 'outsourcing' of the physical making of the art object has been common practice throughout the history of art, with the artist directing others to create their vision. This doesn't detract from the validity of the work. Personally, I am attracted to the 'craft' of printmaking (and obviously am never going to be on a level with someone like Close!). Part of the satisfaction for me comes from the act of carving the block or creating the plate. 

This artist also works exclusively with portraiture. He suffers from prosopagnosia - that is , the inability to recognise faces. This may explain his obsession with faces. Repeatedly painting or reproducing the same face helps him to recognise the people around him (although the artist himself says he wasn't conscious that his decision to work on portraits had its origins in his condition) (3)

Examples of linocuts by Richard Galloway and Ade Adesina

Richard Galloway casts an apparently critical eye over aspects of today's society and urban life. Click Here to view examples of the artist's work on his blog. His down to earth subjects include the clientele of a greasy spoon kaff or a pub or the bin men on their rounds. His work 'Dolor'(Here) shows environmental degradation with effluent and fumes pouring out into a city in a dystopian world. The world is populated with somewhat grotesque characters. Lads in hoodies or balaclavas with English bull terriers. Fried chicken shops and payday loan outlets. Enormous shopping trolleys and wheel-clamped cars. Above this mess what looks like a WWII plane and pilot are grimacing. What are we doing to our world? What do we do when we have the freedom to do as we please? Do we all sink to the lowest common denominator? Stuff ourself with fried chicken and buy as much as we can in our consumerist frenzy while destroying the world around us? - At least, that's my interpretation of the scene but I don't know what the artist intended. 

Galloway's linocuts are impressive in scale - His average prints are 1825x1525 but same are larger than this. They are black and white, single block linocuts. Every part of their surface is crowded with action so they feel, to a certain extent, claustrophobic. He creates a very large variety of marks and cuts to create textures and tonal values. I really appreciate this work but I've only seen it online. I would love to see these prints in real life as it's impossible to get a sense of the scale on a computer screen. 

Ade Adesina

I first encountered the work of this artist when I visited National Original Print Exhibition at Bankside Gallery in London last year. Like Galloway, his linocuts are impressive in terms of their sheer scale, he also works in monochrome (black and white) and there is also an implication of criticism and concern for our deteriorating environment. 

Adesina (click here to view the artist's website)(4) produces imaginary landscapes which have a post -apocalyptic feel about them. The ground is cracked and dry. Boats and superfluous nautical spare parts such as anchors are discarded in the landscape or  the boats run on rails instead of water (in a work entitled adaptation). Whales fly through the sky on enormous wings. A panda pulls a cart full of flowers on a road through a parched landscape and is avidly pursued by bees. Baobab trees from the artist's native Nigeria feature in many of his prints. This seems to be an image of our possible future after the planet is devastated. 

As previously mentioned, the linocuts are ambitious in scale, ranging going up to 110x160cm. There are marks on the Lino that are tiny. Adesina sometimes uses needles to carve Lino(5). Creating something this large using such painstaking techniques must require a great deal of patience and stamina.

This artist has also produced a number of collaborative works with other artists including the Scottish artist June Carey. My favourite collaborative work is the collaboration between Adesina and David Mach Signs of Life which draws imagery from Mach's collage Towers of Babel (which can be viewed on his website) but is placed very much within Adesina's landscape. Both images appear to treat similar subject matter i.e. ecology and the destruction of out environment. 

Work by David Mach and Ade Adesina
Facing page: Lino prints by Henryk Królikowski

Magda Szplit and Henryk Królikowski

While browsing the internet for this research point, I came across This website. I was amazed by the images of linocuts by these two Polish artists. Some of the works are figurative and some abstract. Some appear to have phallic or vaginal symbolism. The this that interested me the most, however, is that they don't look like linocuts at all in some cases. The marks on the Lino are so fine as to just impart a grainy texture or tonal value to the surface. This may be a reflection of the small scale of the pictures on my computer screen compared to the large scale of the prints in real-life. Or could it be that the artists use a combination of Lino etching and cutting - I'm not sure. Either way these prints made my jaw drop. There is certainly a lot that can be achieved using lino. It is much more versatile than I had previously thought.

lino prints by Henryk Królikowski and Magda Szplit 

References:

1. Printmakers' Secrets by Anthony Dyson. Bloomsbury Visual Arts, London 2009 - reprinted 2016

4.https://www.britishmuseum.org/PDF/American%20Dream%20Press%20Release%20Jan%2031.pdf

3.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chuck_Close
4. http://www.adeadesina.com
5. https://www.jmlondon.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/Ade-Adesina-E-Catalogue.pdf

Image References:

1.https://www.picassomio.com/chuck-close/31548.html

2. http://nydamprintsblackandwhite.blogspot.com/2010/11/chuck-closes-printmaking.html

3. http://www.blockmuseum.northwestern.edu/view/collections/collection-spotlight/alexreduction-print.html

4. http://chuckclose.coe.uh.edu/process/alex-images.htm

5. http://richardgalloway.co.uk/dolor.php
6. https://affordableartfair.com/ade-adesina-signs-of-life
7. http://www.davidmach.com/gallery/
8. http://www.printmaking.pl/index.html