Paul Furneaux: Mokuhanga
28 May to 23 July 2011
An exhibition by well-known Scottish artist Paul Furneaux exploring the theme of landscape through the Japanese woodblock printing technique Mokuhanga.
This exhibition explores the development of the artist’s use of this technique over the past decade, with an emphasis on his most recent series, which has seen his 2D practice develop into 3D wall-mounted sculptural objects.
Mokuhanga, is a traditional Japanese woodblock printmaking technique, using watercolour, gouache or pure pigments applied by brush to cut wooden blocks. After the inking, the printing is done by hand, without a press, using a “baren”(hand disk usually wrapped in a bamboo leaf) onto “Washi”, Japanese hand made paper.
The foundation of Furneaux’s art work has always been about looking and experiencing the landscape with it’s varying vistas and ever changing light conditions. The final manifestation his work, becomes an abstraction and distillation of this contemplation of the landscape, subtly blending the physical reality with the implied.
Artist Talk
29 June 2011, 6-8pm
Paul Furneaux will give an illustrated talk about the development of his Japanese woodblock prints over the past decade since completing a Masters at the renowned Tama Art University in Tokyo in 2000.
This will highlight some of the developments in his work leading on to the most recent changes as the work has evolved from 2D practice to enable him to present the printed works as 3D wall-mounted objects which feature in the current exhibition
Studio Demonstration of Mokuhanga (Japanese Woodblock Printing)
09 July 2011, 2-3pm
To complement his exhibition “Mokuhanga”: Paul Furneaux will highlight some of the skills involved in hand printing Japanese woodblock printing, illustrating through demonstration the control that hand printing and brushed application of colour give. Paul will also talk about the tools used and demonstrate their use.
Dates of Exhibition: 28 May to 23 July 2011
Opening Hours: Weekly Tuesday - Saturday 10.00am - 6.00pm CLOSED SUNDAY & MONDAYS
Admission: Free
Venue: Edinburgh Printmakers
Address: 23 Union Street, Edinburgh, EH1 3LR
Telephone: 0131 557 2479
Email: [email protected]
Web site: www.edinburgh-printmakers.co.uk
Contact: Sarah-Manning Cordwell
Lineage: Prints by Michael Craig-Martin, Ian Davenport and Julian Opie
04 August to 03 September 2011
Edinburgh Printmakers is pleased to present a group of new and recent editions by three celebrated British artists, all of whom are pushing the boundaries of printmaking in their own individual ways. All prints in the exhibition have been published by Alan Cristea Gallery, London, the largest publishers of contemporary editions in Europe and explore the use of the line, whether drawn or dripped, cut out or printed.
Michael Craig-Martin has been documenting the everyday object for many years. The selection of prints in this exhibition range from traditional screenprints to digital inkjets and often explore the relationship between text and image. His recent Alphabet screenprints, a selection of which are included in this show, are currently touring the UK under the aegis of the Arts Council Collection and Hayward Touring. His most recent print KIDS illustrates the design for a large-scale mural which has just been completed for a children’s cancer ward at the Radcliffe Hospital in Oxford. Best known for his public commissions, Craig-Martin is renowned for his teaching at Goldsmith’s during the late 70s and 80s, where his students included the yBa generation of artists such as Damien Hirst, Tracey Emin, as well as Julian Opie and Ian Davenport. Last year he curated a show of work by his former students at Galerie Haas & Fuchs in Berlin, which included both artists.
Craig-Martin aims to create a ‘style-less’ representation of an object – to make it as simple as possible and yet still remain recognisable. In a similar way, Julian Opie has created his own unique style by making contemporary versions of the traditional genres of the portrait, landscape and still life. His images are familiar in their graphic, black outlines and stylisation of the, often faceless, figures. The group of life-size black ‘flocked’ Shahnozas on white acrylic framed panels are an example of this paring down. Opie, like Craig-Martin, has the ability to give us just enough information to read the image clearly without adding unnecessary detail. He is continuously developing new ways of making editions. The exhibition also includes a set of Lenticular landscapes, where six Japanese views are represented in three dimensions using a technology in which a lenticular lens is used to produce images which offer an illusion of depth.
Craig-Martin is also known for his use of bright, bold colours and ability to play with tone. Ian Davenport also displays this skill in his compositions. He is best known for his large-scale poured paintings on aluminium. This exhibition includes a selection of screenprints and etchings which go some way in replicating his process of painting and reflect his interest in colour and hue. His Etched Puddle monoprints in particular are masterpieces of printmaking, representing lines of dripping ink running down a page, pooling at the bottom. Often his choice of two or three ‘clashing’ colours make the reading of the image quite challenging, which again relates to Craig-Martin’s work, where outlines and filled in sections of colour are often overlaid in similar or contrasting tones.
All three artists are based in London. All works are for sale.
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