Oleksiy Fedorenko, Person With Bell
Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):
"Oleksiy Fedorenko creates wildly enigmatic etchings, and I treasure them all. His works are full of absurdity, whimsicality and subtlety, and yet are so clear - exactly as he describes them. In Person with Bell, there is certainly a person and a bell, but the title is comically reductive. He even writes the title in lovely script in the plate. But he fails to mention that the person seems to have four eyes, there is also a person with towering hair, small castles in space, and floating, glowing microbes or generally unidentified squiggles. It's human yet fantastical and otherworldly. I haven't the slightest about when or where this scene is from, but I'm captivated."
Mario Avati, Colombe
Recommended by Sam (Gallery Owner & Director):
"This mezzotint is one of ten images created for the Noah's Ark portfolio published by Aquarius Press, Baltimore 1971. This artist (in France) and Hamaguchi (in Japan), were primarily responsible for a new respect for mezzotint as a fine art medium rather than merely a copy process. In the 17th and 18th centuries, mezzotint had been used to copy paintings for the nobility and senior church patrons. Avati exploited the range of values from velvety blacks to full white highlights, to make unique images not replicating an existing image in another medium. He makes masterful use of burnishers and scrapers over the 'rocked' surface to define the form purely through his control of values rather than outlines."
Jun'Ichiro Sekino, Horse in a Blue Landscape
Recommended by Emma (Marketing & Communications Manager):
"The print showcases the ink, creating a "landscape" filled with movement, detail, and texture.With simple composition and beautiful colors, Sekino creates a tender relationship between the viewer and the subject. There's something very somber in seeing such a huge animal rendered so small and trapped within the box of the composition. I feel that the horse is lost in the landscape rather than free."
Jiri Anderle, Horatius: Laetus In Praesens
Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):
"Jiri Anderle is a renowned Czech artist and demonstrates here several of the techniques that he has mastered, down to the Rembrandt-esque trees. Anderle came to be known in the U.S. in the 1960s thanks to Anne and Jacques Baruch who were patrons of the arts and gallerists in Chicago that featured Eastern European artists at a time when they were isolated from much of Western art and businesses. This is a beautiful depiction of Anne Baruch, a very personal and intimate portrait that portrays a timeless beauty. You can see the gratitude and care Anderle took with the portrait, wonderfully capturing the title, 'Joy in the Present'."
Mio Asahi, The Blue Town of Water Where Starfish Are Flying
Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):
"Asahi’s work perfectly balances technical skill with playfulness. This particular etching is full of graceful arcs and twirls that spin the viewer in towards the town at the center. Asahi uses her signature color palette to create a softness that’s pleasing to look at with tiny pops of color that also serve to direct the viewer’s eye. Each character depicted is given importance and movement - even the buildings seem to be enjoying themselves, tucked between the jumping fish and waves of the water."
