Andy Warhol, Damien Hirst, Henri Matisse, Henry Moore, Marc Chagall, Pablo Picasso, Pierre-Auguste Renoir, Roy Lichtenstein

Printmaking: A History

17 Jun 2010 - 18 Sep 2010 | 29 New Bond Street, London

When I held in my hand a lithographic stone, or a copper plate, I believed I was touching a talisman. It seemed to me that I could entrust them with all my joys, all my sorrows… Marc Chagall

PRINTMAKING: A HISTORY charts the histories of etching, lithography and screenprinting in the Western world, showing the influence that these techniques have had on the history of art from the 15th century to the present day. The artists represented in this exhibition all turned towards printmaking to explore their subject matters in new, exciting ways. The different techniques offered a versatility that appealed to the explorative nature of being an artist, often allowing them to move beyond the traditions of painting:

I would like to try….engraving and to have a printing press. To try to go further than easel painting, which in my opinon, sets itself a narrow aim Joan Miró

PRINTMAKING: A HISTORY illustrates this wide repertoire of techniques, materials and subjects and illustrates how artists, often years apart, influenced one another and drew inspiration from the past when creating their prints:

Every painter takes himself for Rembrandt…everybody has the same delusions Pablo Picasso

Picasso has been a very big influence on me…suddenly to do one that really looked like Picasso seemed very liberating Roy Lichtenstein

Chronologically beginning with Rembrandt van Rijn who worked in the 17th century, and continuing through to the 21st, PRINTMAKING: A HISTORY looks at works by artists such as Pablo Picasso, Marc Chagall, Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein, Jasper Johns and Jim Dine. Through the artists’ varied use of the three techniques of etching, lithography and screenprinting, PRINTMAKING: A HISTORY demonstrates how they have developed and evolved through the centuries to create highly individual and prominent works of art. There are […prints] that you can look at for long periods and return to again and again, always discovering new meanings. Rembrandt’s etchings do this for me: it is wonderful how he makes shadows that have mysterious, unbelievable sonorities Henry Moore