THE MULTIVERSE

With limited runs, accessible price points and democratic distribution, artists’ multiples have repeating appeal.

By Lisa Mesbur

David Mach

davidmach.com

This London-based artist receives major accolades for his large-scale work, but his limited-edition screen prints and small artworks pack the same visual punch. Killing Time – Oooh! and Killing Time – Argh! are timepieces that feature comic-style elements, while prints including Cliffhanger and Curator’s Nightmare freeze-frame the kind of scenes you’d find in a superhero comic.

Sally Kindberg

sallykindberg.com

Stockholm-born Kindberg works primarily in oil paint, exploring the façades of femininity through compositions reminiscent of late ’70s Pop graphics. In 2022, Kindberg wrought Dynamite , a cheeky depiction of a lipsticked grin with Chiclet-bright teeth chomping on a fat cigar. The silkscreen print is released in three colourways, each offered in a limited edition of 20.

Shannnon Gerard

shannongerard.org

Inspired by old-school processes, Gerard’s stop-motion animation, wheat-paste posters and crocheted works explore the ethos of independent publishing and the subversive potential of handwork. Her ongoing Plants You Can’t Kill series blurs the line between fine art and craft with fuzzy, tactile facsimiles of succulents, cacti and flowers that bring joy and beauty to the everyday.

Jade Rude

@jaderude on Instagram

Multidisciplinary, Toronto-based artist Jade Rude is interested in our perceptions of dimensionality and how they affect our sense of reality. This preoccupation led to Not Yet Something, Structure, a series of photographs of Rude’s sculptures, which fold familiar objects into origami-like structures, and also a series of text pieces — Nice to See You, You Look Great, Miss Your Face, Hello — that are functional and lighthearted affirmations.

Tacita Dean

tacitadean.net

While this artist based in Berlin and Los Angeles is primarily known for her work in film, her pandemic pivot led to the creation of 50 multiples series, each produced in an edition of 100. Editions include Stamp Out Stamping, a series of vintage index cards stamped with the titular directive, and a series of postcards bearing the Dean-forged signature of the late Belgian Surrealist Christian Dotremont.

Kelly Mark

kellymark.com

Mining the banalities of life for inspiration, this artist’s work ranges from sculpture to tattoo designs. Multiples comprise a major part of Mark’s practice. In Exist , she alters 25 EXIT signs to display a message more existentially complex. For Some Reason I Have Two Copies of This Book, sold as hardcover book pairs with identical letterpress wording on their spines, transforms an observation into fine art.