MARTIN LANGFORD, Death by Duvet
Recommended by Nikki (Art Photographer / Marketing and Exhibitions Specialist):
As summer winds down, I am reminded of all the house chores I’ve left piled up, including washing the duvet. I love Langford’s humor around this chore. I sympathize laughingly with the person in the etching struggling in each scene to make the duvet fit inside the cover. This piece gives me a welcome lighthearted feeling as I look forward to the fall season.
View work: Martin Langford, Death by Duvet. Etching and aquatint
HENRI FANTIN-LATOUR, Rienzi: acte V, prière de Rienzi (Rienzi's Prayer)
Recommended by Paige (Collections Manager / Marketing Coordinator):
I love when art forms interact, like in this lithograph by Henri Fantin-Latour which depicts a scene from the tragic opera, ’Rienzi’, by Richard Wagner. It captures the finale, with Rienzi on his knees, fires destroying the city through the window, and Rienzi’s sister Irene emerging from the shadows. Rienzi, the protector of the people who rose to power as a mere plebeian, is betrayed and now condemned to death. Still, Wagner and Fantin-Latour both remember the importance of Irene. A constant character who actually opens the opera, she appears here to show her loyalty and choose the same fate as her brother in the name of uniting Rome, even though she has the option to attempt an escape with Adriano.
View work:
Henri Fantin-Latour, Rienzi: acte V, prière de Rienzi (Rienzi's Prayer). Lithograph and chîne-collé
HAKU MAKI, Poem 72 - 24
Recommended by Rebecca (Gallery Associate):
Haku Maki was an incredibly innovative printmaker, adding cement to the foundation of the printing matrix after cutting his woodblocks. This unique craft puts his work in conversation with contemporary printmakers such as Carol Summers (American, 1925 - 2016), or in tandem with Hiroyuki Tajima (Japanese, 1911 - 1984) who also used cement, or Glen Alps (American, 1914 - 1996) who used household paint additives such as ground walnut shells and Durham's Rock Hard Putty. Haku Maki's small prints from around 1960, like this one, were abstractions of Kanji characters. Using a thicker paper in 1963, helped captured the deeper embossing and accentuated the sculptural and textural qualities. His small prints are gems with dashes of color.
View work: Haku Maki, Poem 72 - 24. Color relief print
JULIE NISKANEN, Refuge
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.
View work: Julie Niskanen, Refuge. Mezzotint with hand-coloring