02 January 2008

Ben's prints

The recent show of Ben Nicholson's prints included several of the his copper plates, in irregular shapes - here they are below the prints, luring you into the Alan Cristea gallery on Cork Street.Most surprising thing in the show was the blocks for his linocut Princess -- they were done on lineoleum used on floors:One of my favourites is Number, a linocut printed on cloth:Small etchings were priced from £3000. Fortunately they are also accessible in catalogues and books! Here are a couple of Italian scenes:Their mysterious quality belies their simplicity - and complexity. Many years ago I tried to copy one in black stitched lines on white fabric - it didn't turn out well. Now, it would be good to be in a clear space, thinking about these, and seeing what would come out of that. A project for "later".

1 comment:

Olga Norris said...

Two favourites of mine: Ben Nicholson and Alan Cristea. The linocut of Number on cloth can be seen as curtains at Kettle's Yard in Cambridge.