AMSTERDAM.- Gallery Delaive opened Sam Francis: Monotypes, an exhibition which presents a selection of some of Sam Francis most compelling monotypes. On view from 21 March till 30 April, this show provides insight in Sam Francis unconventional monotype methods which produced a unique body of work that dissolves the boundary between painting and printmaking.
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It was in the early 1970s that Sam Francis became fully engaged in the act of printmaking. First working with several print makers, he then opened The Litho Shop to have his own practice. The multiples he produced bear great similarity to his painted works. However, rather than simply reproducing his painting style, his manner of printmaking was one of deep and continuous experimentation. Francis never made advance plans for his lithographs and etchings, but let them flow organically from the process, as he did with his paintings. He worked with a brush - rather than the often-preferred pen, crayon or marker - to achieve the same gestural dynamism.Then he would make extensive proofs to gradually perfect the works.
From 1974 onwards he would start to produce monotypes (singular prints) in a highly unique way which he called ‘instant painting.’ Monotypes were not Francis’ invention, artists throughout the ages such as Rembrandt and Degas had experimented with this medium, however they were far from common. Sam Francis breathed new life into this medium by rapidly painting directly on the printing plates (including aluminum, copper, wood, stone, etc.). He would “mix oil and water, acrylic and watercolor, dry pigment, gouache and inks all together.” Then he would put the plates into a machine which would press, fuse and heat everything together on a sheet in a single “flash.”
In the late 1970s and 80s he would use ‘prototypes’ – made of wood veneer plates and often attach several on top of each other, to then similarly adorn them with his painterly gestures. These prototypes - are works of art and form a highly unique element of Francis ’oeuvre. Francis would carefully paint the copper plates and prototypes, but the monotypes came into existence in a single instant, in a moment of seemingly magical alchemy. This characteristic was very alluring to the artist:
“Once you peel it off, there is something beautiful, which you could not have seen any other way. It wasn’t there before. It isn’t like a print either. In printmaking you know what you’re doing, with this I am learning.”
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