Medium: Mezzotint, drypoint
Dimensions: 5 1/2 x 14 inches (image)
Artist details: American, 1950
Date finished: 2010
Edition: of 45

Recommended by Nikki (Art Photographer / Marketing and Exhibitions Specialist):

The volatility and energy behind Farrell’s sepia-inked piece is palpable. The figure’s neck, jugular veins, the collarbones, and jawline read as both vulnerable and strong, simultaneously. The chaos of the branches that cut across her neck break up three-quarters of the image, carrying the intense feelings across the entire scene with its visual movement.

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 15 5/8 x 15 5/8 inches (Image) 20 3/4 x 20 3/8 inches (Sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1967
Date finished: 2020
Edition: of 40

Recommended by Paige:

(Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator)

This piece expresses how I often feel when I am out of place in a new place. Traveling far from home or starting over somewhere new can be a surreal experience; sometimes you pause and wonder, how did I get here? Or why am I here? Leaving can feel like stepping off a cliff into the unknown, represented here by total black. But she hasn't fallen, she might even be floating, elevating to something greater: ascending.

Medium: Mezzotint with hand coloring
Dimensions: 5 7/8 x 7 3/4 inches (image) 11 1/8 x 15 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1983
Date finished: 2009/2019
Edition: of 12, Second state

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist / Gallery Associate):

Driven by a nuanced play between light and dark, Julie Niskanen's 'Refuge' portrays depths of meaning within this simple image of two eggs in a nest. Niskanen's use of the mezzotint technique softly tempers the contrast between the abyssal black background and the gently glowing nest, inviting us to consider a close relationship between foreboding mystery and peaceful clarity. The dangers residing in the blackness below this nest are completely unknown, yet the coupled eggs are safe and serenely cradled side by side.

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 31 5/8 x 23 3/4 inches (image) 39 1/4 x 28 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Thai, 1990
Date finished: 2018
Edition: of 25

Recommended by Nikki (Art Photographer / Marketing and Exhibitions Specialist):

This large mezzotint was printed in 2018 - before covid shut the world down. Today, it feels equally, if not more relevant. I enjoy the perspective Thai artist, Chirachaisakul, has on America’s ‘Labyrinth of Liberty’. Liberty is bound, gagged, blinded, objectified, and wrapped in fragility - unable to help the small figures that climb her. Even if the figures in the print could make it through the maze at the bottom, there would be even more red tape at the top.

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 7 x 8 3/4 inches (image)
Artist details: American, 1953
Date finished: 1982
Edition: of 75

Recommended by Nikki (Art Photographer / Marketing and Exhibitions Specialist):

Carol Wax is an expert mezzotint printmaker (a time-consuming process that uses extreme lights and darks to build up an image on a copperplate). In this scene fire, twine, and darkness (with time as a witness) play an important role in Wax’s narrative. To feed the light, the twine must burn, but there is a finite amount of the consumable resource before the flame inevitably goes out and it becomes dark.

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):

Kouki Tsuritani’s ‘Pulcinella’ is a brilliant version of the cunning, rebel character I adore. The use of mezzotint accents the character perfectly with its darkness emphasizing his severity and the softness building mystery. This Pulcinella is composed and stoic with his prominent nose and just slits in the mask to reveal his eyes. There is so much to explore in Pulcinella’s gaze, the town on his hat and collar, and the moon’s reflection cradled in his arms. 

Medium: Color mezzotint
Dimensions: 7 3/4 x 7 inches (image) 11 1/2 x 10 1/2 inches (sheet)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1948
Date finished: 2005
Edition: of 20

Recommended by Nikki (Fine Print Photographer & Content Publisher):

Peter Jogo’s mastery of color mezzotint never ceases to amaze. He expertly replicates sharp angles of light refractions in the glass vase of water, while simultaneously capturing the soft glow of light reaching us from behind the delicately overlapping flower petals. Rather than relying on the stark black and white of most traditional mezzotints, Jogo effectively employs the triadic harmony of purple, orange, and green to tie the full composition together. As summer winds down, this beautifully portrayed bouquet of cut flowers reminds us to enjoy the last rays of sunshine before fall arrives.

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 5 3/4 x 9 inches (image)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1958
Date finished: 1992
Edition: of 100

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):

"Mershimer’s lovely ‘Cape Moon’ shows a moment in time, the late night or early morning in a small town; two houses and the parallel lives within, each with a light on while the rest of the town sleeps, one with flaking paint, the other with plants hanging in the window. There is so much nostalgia for quiet places and times in this piece, and private moments in the middle of the night, depicted in sharp beautiful contrast like a scene from a movie."

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 9 1/2 x 6 inches
Signature: Signed
Artist details: Japanese, 1954
Date finished: 1999
Edition: XVI/XXX

Recommended by Catherine (Collections Specialist):

"Mikio Watanabe is known for his elegant and evocative depictions of nude figures, and the mezzotint 'Sur la Branche' is a wonderful example. The subject emerges from a somber atmosphere of black & gray tones, bathed in a soft luminescence. She has positioned herself on the branch with perfect balance and intention, unbothered by the seemingly immeasurable height below, radiating peace and quiet agency. With her head turned away and her identity hidden from the viewer, she keeps this moment to herself, like a precious secret. To the viewer, it feels like a privilege to observe this serene celebration of her strength and grace."

Medium: Four-plate mezzotint
Dimensions: 4 x 5 inches (image)
Signature: Signed
Artist details: American, 1948
Date finished: 2016
Edition: of 40

Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager):

"This piece immediately grabbed my attention because of the rich color and perfect technique. But what keeps me looking is the regal, precious treatment of a humble apple. It strikes me as a perfectly lit, staged scene of a play with an apple as the protagonist. It's a scene that we'd never quite catch in our daily life either because it vanishes when we turn the lights on or because we don't revere the apple on our table as maybe we should. Either way, I'm glad that Jogo called my attention to it."

Medium: Mezzotint
Dimensions: 12 x 9 1/2 inches (plate)
Artist details: American, 1955
Date finished: 2001
Edition: 100

Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Manager):
"Art Werger always puts mezzotint to good use and he uses it to its fullest in this dark, snowy scene. Passage has all of the best elements of a night scene - high contrast, shadows, reflections, and mystery. The subtle differences in the footprints tell you which figures are coming and which are going, but their faces are obscured by darkness and their umbrellas fighting against the wind. I feel cold but comforted imagining myself in the quiet night, my footsteps muted by the snow. The lighting and depth of view reminds me of other great artists like John Sloan and others of the 1920s-40s. It is a beautifully executed, timeless scene."