BLAISE DRUMMOND Prints and Drawings
BLAISE DRUMMOND
Prints and Drawings
Exhibition 20th April – 1st May 2015
Sims Reed Gallery The Economist Building 30 Bury Street London SW1Y 6AU T +44 (0)20 7930 5111 F +44 (0)20 7930 1555 E gallery@simsreed.com www.gallery.simsreed.com
FOREWORD
Lyndsey Ingram Several years ago I was working in Paris when I noticed a group of drawings through a gallery window. I went in to enquire and stood for ages in front of one in particular – a large watercolour of a Courbusier-esque building, drawn in soft, beautiful colours on a stark white background. I absolutely fell in love and the memory of this drawing stayed with me. Long after I had forgotten the artist’s name, I never forgot the piece or how much it resonated with me. Years later I was again in Paris and visiting the master printer Michael Woolworth. Casually looking around his atelier, I noticed a lithograph of a chair and a tree, again on a simple white background. It immediately reminded me of the drawing I had seen years before. Jumping up and down with delight, I enthusiastically told Michael my story of falling in love and he confirmed it was by the same artist – Blaise Drummond. Michael offered to introduce me to Blaise and soon after I flew to Ireland to meet him and his family. Along with my colleague Lucy, I spent an idyllic day at Blaise’s beautiful home in rural Ireland and we have had the pleasure and privilege of showing his works on paper in London ever since. In Blaise’s pictures, one senses a feeling of inner calm. Serene, beautiful, and perfectly balanced, his images represent the delicate relationship between mankind and nature. There is often some dialogue between the natural world and the built environment, which he represents by modernist icons such as Mies van der Rohe and Le Courbusier. The majority of Blaise’s print work has been done in Paris, printed by Michael and published by Michael Woolworth Editions. These prints can look deceptively simple, but often involve a combination of several complicated and unorthodox techniques. Michael and Blaise collaborate closely and in these prints there is a tangible sense of their shared commitment to skillful printmaking, playful experimentation, and friendship. More recently Blaise has also made two etchings with the Stoney Road print workshop in Ireland, which incorporate coloured thread, carefully sewn into each sheet. This catalogue is the culmination of Blaise’s graphic work to date and includes all 21 of his prints. There is also a selection of recent drawings. We are delighted to be able to able to present this comprehensive group, which still looks as fresh and beautiful as when I first saw it so many years ago. Right: Blaise Drummond in his studio with Søren, Tang, County Westmeath, 2015 4
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PRINTS
CarrÊ de Ciel Bleu Woodcut and lithograph printed in colours, 2006 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 40 A co-edition with the museum Abbaye de St Croix, Sables d’Olonne Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 19.5 x 20.5 cm 8
Superior National Forest Lithograph printed in colours, 2011 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 45.5 x 50 cm 9
We Met in the Summer Lithograph with photogravure printed in colours, 2011 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 50 x 66 cm 10
Deckfarbkasten Lithograph printed in colours, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 25 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 50 x 65 cm 11
To the Rocket Station Lithograph and woodcut printed in colours, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 75 x 106 cm 12
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Pacific Palisades Lithograph and photogravure printed in colours, 2012 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 56 x 76 cm 14
Neuartige Eigenheim Tapeten Lithograph printed in colours, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 25 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 75 x 56 cm 15
The Union Trust Company Woodcut, lithograph, photogravure and collage, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published Michael Woolworth 63 x 91 cm 16
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Antarctic I Lithograph and watercolour, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 26 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 33.5 x 47 cm 18
Antarctic II Lithograph and watercolour, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 29 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 32.5 x 50 cm 19
Cabin Lithograph, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 28 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 42.5 x 55 cm 20
At Forest Margins GiclĂŠe printed in colours, archival ink, oil cloth and string, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 20 Printed by Mick Hodson Associates, London Published by Vital Arts, London 43 x 53.5 cm 21
A New Path to the Waterfall GiclĂŠe printed in colours, archival ink and watercolour paint, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 20 Printed by Mick Hodson Associates, London Published by Vital Arts, London 43 x 53.5 cm 22
Mountain Streams and Rivers GiclĂŠe printed in colours, archival ink and wallpaper, 2013 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 20 Printed by Mick Hodson Associates, London Published by Vital Arts, London 53.5 x 43 cm 23
The Northern Cardinal Lithograph and woodcut printed in colours, 2015 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 25 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 70 x 63 cm 24
Experimental House for Marimekko Lithograph and woodcut printed in colours, 2014 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 63 x 90 cm 25
Music School Intaglio printed in colours with hand-stitching, 2014 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 40 Printed by Stoney Road Press, Dublin Published by Stoney Road Press 66 x 82 cm 26
Muuratsalo Intaglio printed in colours with hand-stitching, 2014 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 40 Printed by Stoney Road Press, Dublin Published by Stoney Road Press 66 x 82 cm 27
Cathedral Lithograph printed in colours, 2014 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 76 x 56 cm 28
Ny - Ă…lesund Lithograph printed in colours with collage and hand-stitching, 2015 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 30 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Louis Vuitton 27 x 38 cm 29
Feel Better Lithograph and woodcut printed in colours, 2014 Signed in pencil and numbered from the edition of 21 Printed by Atelier Michael Woolworth, Paris Published by Michael Woolworth 120 x 160 cm 30
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DRAWINGS
Cathedral Drawing Watercolour and sepia ink on paper, 2014 89 x 70.5 cm 34
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Baptism Study Acrylic, oil and collage on brown paper, 2012 95 x 80 cm 36
Forest Ink, collage and watercolour on paper, 2012 78 x 108 cm 37
Summer House Experimental Sepia ink, veneer, cotton thread and collage on paper, 2014 80 x 113 cm 38
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Cartron, Novermber 2013 (No.1) Watercolour and coloured pencil on paper, 2014 80 x 121 cm 40
Cartron, Novermber 2013 (No.2) Watercolour and coloured pencil on paper, 2014 80 x 121 cm 41
Music School (No.2) Sepia ink, veneer, cotton thread, watercolour and collage on paper, 2014 80 x 115 cm 42
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We Met in Summer Coloured pencil and collage on paper, 2012 60 x 80 cm 44
Seldom Seen Collage, watercolour, lithography and pencil on paper, 2015 54.5 x 39.5 cm 45
1963 Coloured pencil, ink and collage on paper, 2012 47.5 x 60 cm 46
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BIOGRAPHY Blaise Drummond was born to Irish parents in Liverpool in 1967 and studied Philosophy and Classical Art at the University of Edinburgh before attending the National College of Art and Design in Dublin for a Joint BA in Fine Art (Painting) and History of Art. In 1998 he graduated with an MA in Fine Art from Chelsea College of Art and Design in London. His work, mostly realised in the form of painting, drawing and sculpture/installation, is centred around ideas of the natural world, landscape and its representation, architecture and design. In 2006 he also began an on-going collaboration on a body of printed work with the American-born, Paris based publisher and master printer, Michael Woolworth. He lives in the middle of rural Ireland in Tang, County Westmeath where he tends his garden with his wife, Síabhra Durcan and four children, Sonny, Bea, Arthur and Søren.
SELECTED SOLO EXHIBITIONS 2015 LA LUMIÈRE DU NORD [NORTH LIGHT], Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris 2013 Great Nature®, Galerie Conrads, Dusseldorf 2011 Towards a Unified Theory of Everything, Galerie Loevenbruck, Paris 2010 Folk Songs of North America, Galleri Bo Bjerggaard, Copenhagen 2009 Blaise Drummond, Haus Lange, Kunstmuseen Krefeld, Germany 2008 The Best I Can Do, Santa Barbara Contemporary Arts Forum One Day the Earth Shall be Ours, Aliceday, Brussels 2007 Lake Shore Drive, Mary Goldman Gallery, Los Angeles 2006 Blaise Drummond, Musee de l’Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Les Sables d’Olonne Sous Le Soleil du Nord, Butler Gallery, Kilkenny, Ireland Forest Park, PERUGI artecontemporanea, Padova 2005 Western Parkway, Blancpainstepczynski, Geneva 2003 What to Look for in Summer, Rubicon Gallery, Dublin 2000 A Poetic Geography of Five Continents, Castlefield Gallery, Manchester
SELECTED GROUP EXHIBITIONS 2015 Re-Corbusier, Fondation Le Corbusier, Paris 2014 Les Horizons, La Criée, Rennes 2013 Folly – Art after Architecture, Glucksman Gallery, Cork 2012 Portrait/Landscape: Genre Boundaries, Nizhny Novgorod State Museum of Art, National Centre for Contemporary Arts, Moscow Museum of Modern Art Life in the Woods – Aspects of Escapism, Philara, Dusseldorf 2011 Utopia Ltd, Wexford Arts Centre, Ireland
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2010 Architecture en Lignes, Musée Régional d’Art Contemporain Languedoc-Roussillon, Sérignan, France 2009 The Way Things Are /10 Irish Artists, SNO Contemporary Arts Projects, Sydney Painting Without Painting, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven 2008 Landscope, Galerie Thaddaeus Ropac, Paris, Salzburg 10,000 to 50, Irish Museum of Modern Art Architektur in Bewegung, Kunsthalle Wilhelmshaven, Germany 2007 (I’m Always Touched) By Your Presence, Dear, Irish Museum of Modern Art Wood for the Trees and Falling Leaves, Gimpel Fils, London Landescapism, Islip Art Museum, East Islip, New York 2006 un homme a sa fenetre, Musee des Beaux-Arts de Nantes 2005 The Vernacular, Standpoint Gallery, London 2004 John Moores 23, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool 2002 No Object, No Subject, No Matter..., Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin 2001 East International, Norwich Gallery 1999 Utopias, Douglas Hyde Gallery, Dublin John Moores 21, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool 1998 Away from Home, Bluecoat Gallery, Liverpool Expanded View, Ikon Gallery Touring Show Perspective, Ormeau Baths Gallery, Belfast 1997 John Moores 20, Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool
COLLECTIONS The British Council The British Government Collection Irish Museum of Modern Art Kunstmuseen, Krefeld Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool Musee des Beaux Arts de Nantes Fonds Cantonal d’Art Contemporain, Geneva, (FCAC) Fond Municipal d’Art Contemporain, Paris Musee de l’Abbaye Sainte-Croix, Les Sables d’Olonne
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Published by Sims Reed Gallery on the occasion of the exhibition ‘BLAISE DRUMMOND Prints and Drawings’ 20th April – 1st May 2015 © All rights reserved. No part of the contents of this catalogue may be reproduced in whole or in part, without the permission from the publisher Sims Reed Gallery. Designed by Lucy Harbut. Printed by Dayfold.