Wednesday, 26 October 2016

INTERNATIONAL PRINT BIENNIAL

Image result for linocut reduction



The International Print Biennial is on all over the North East just now: every commercial gallery is showing something, so it is a big event. We spent yesterday traipsing around some of those galleries to see what was there.
There is a wide range of techniques and styles; at the Biscuit Factory they have maybe 200 works, all no larger than 100x100mm for sale at prices from £50 and upwards but nothing costing more than £150. There is something terribly attractive about miniature art; the detail the ambition. We would have bought something but couldn’t think where to put it. We have too much stuff already.
I think my problem with print is I don’t appreciate the work involved. Also, I don’t really understand why an artist would choose silkscreen over lino-cut for example and what the limitations are. I don’t appreciate technique in anything: not in art; not in music; not in sport, not in literature either for that matter. You can knock off the greatest guitar solo ever recorded with amazing finger technique but if it isn’t musical, it will end up in my trash bin. So a lot of these works by famous Japanese lino cut practitioners passed me by; my loss I guess.


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