Sculptors in Print by Marlborough Fine Art

SCULPTORS

IN PRINT

LOUISE BOURGEOIS

ANISH KAPOOR RICHARD SERRA

KIKI SMITH

SCULPTORS

IN PRINT

6 -30 April 2016

SCULPTORS

IN PRINT

Marlborough Fine Art 6 Albemarle Street London W1S 4BY + 44 (0)20 7629 5161 frossi@marlboroughfineart.com www.marlboroughlondon.com

INTRODUCTION

bronze spider, cradling an egg sac, looms above gallery visitors on its spindly legs. Five vast slabs of weathering steel create at once both a cave to hide in and an arrowhead that directs the eyes of passers-by to the sky. A statue of a woman, her face turned up to heaven – but why is her ankle chained… and is that fur growing from her skin? A colossal ten-storey contortion of red PVC sheeting that can never be seen, or photographed, in its entirety.

The artists who made these iconic sculptures – Louise Bourgeois, Richard Serra, Kiki Smith and Anish Kapoor, respectively – are also highly regarded for their printmaking. Sculpture and printmaking have an affinity: it’s bewitching when a sculptor brings their sensibility for space to the constraints of a single plane, and unafraid of technical experiment, explores different means of making marks. They appreciate the positive and negative elements of the matrix, the surface textures of ink and paper. They relish the degree of chance that attends work in the print studio, not dissimilar to the creation and casting of a mould – and like that process, often requiring collaboration. The scale the artist works on may have changed, but the infinitesimal details – the thickness of a sheet of paper, the proportions of the matrix – are just as significant. In the intaglio process (used in many of the prints in this exhibition) a soft burr curls up from the incised lines, depressions are formed in the surface of the plate. The artist learns to gauge how the depth to which the plate is scratched with a needle or corroded by aquatint determines the quality of the line.

Such technicalities are easily forgotten on encountering a print by Anish Kapoor. Like Rothko’s late paintings, these radiant works completely envelope the viewer. The Shadow III and Horizon Shadow series present bands of light and darkness out of which vibrate rich fields of colour – aquamarine, scarlet, magenta, cobalt blue. Kapoor’s prints are a disorientating reminder of the miracle of optics, so hypnotic that the viewer feels attuned to the reception of light on the photo receptors of their retina. The colours recall the mountains of vivid powdered pigment in Kapoor’s sculptures, in particular his signature red. In defiance of convention, these prints extend into the bleed, the ink sweeping to the very edge of the paper (and beyond), unconcerned by the abrupt amputation at its limits. Fold develops this idea further, breaking away from the flat plane of the paper, bisecting the print to create a form both convex and concave. The seductive contours of Fold are reflected in the dynamic curves of Louise Bourgeois’ etching Sainte Sébastienne. This reworking of the fey Christian martyr as a strong female figure typifies the artist’s punning

BY NANCY CAMPBELL

treatment of gender in sculptures like Single III (1996), in which male and female forms are conjoined in one equivocal body. Bourgeois employed fabric in many of her sculptures – it is reminiscent of her mother’s work weaving and restoring antique tapestries – and returned to it in The Fragile as a vehicle for the printed image. This suite presents the figure of the spider (also a weaver of webs and, for Bourgeois, a symbol of the mother) on a more modest scale than that of the sculptures, yet its character is just as complex. By the time the weaver’s daughter drew The Fragile in her nineties, she had herself experienced motherhood and, in turn, become a vulnerable figure receiving care. Richard Serra’s monumental sculptures have transformed environments around the globe from the desert of Qatar to downtown New York. Despite their tough aspect these works often create smaller, enclosed spaces with protective shadows. When Serra turns his attention from huge sheets of forged steel to the etching plate, it might appear as if he has inked the faces of his sculptures and laid them on the paper. The black ink is as dense and distinctive in texture as the patina of rust on the artist’s steel works; all the surrounding light is absorbed into its brooding mass. The austere titles of these etchings – Extension, Level, Ballast – evoke Serra’s memories of the San Francisco shipyards in which his father worked. His graphic vocabulary is equally restrained, and there is nothing here to distract the viewer from the shrewd balance of abstract forms. Famous for her long standing interest in body politics, Kiki Smith has more recently begun to investigate the relationship between human nature and the natural world. Prints expressing her fascination

with human anatomy and its decay have been succeeded by a very contemporary consideration of the changing environment. In these painstakingly etched and sometimes hand-coloured works, the often-overlooked details of animal bodies, such as fur or claws, are examined in forensic detail. Whether depicting taxidermy specimens in museums or the condolence bouquets Smith received after her mother’s death, each of these works can be seen as a memento mori. This focus on fleeting external appearance, what Smith calls the ‘skin as an envelope’, befits an artist with a penchant for tattoos. Kiki Smith’s fascination with paper as material has led her to print on Japanese papers and even add paper to her sculptures. Paper, like skin, is not merely a surface: the word ‘envelope’ implies an interior, and any work by Smith is guaranteed to take a look inside. The prints in this exhibition – whether figurative or abstract, polychrome or black and white – explore the printed surface as a permeable boundary rather than a terminus. They express a concern with the human experience of space, the balance of bodies. Those arrows trained on Sainte Sebastienne’s flesh are ultimately ambiguous. Are they pointing a trajectory for the viewer’s eye? Or are they extruded forcefully back onto the world by the saint’s flesh? They remind the viewer that all bodies, and the skins that enclose them, are both receptive to impressions and capable of making their own imprint. Nancy Campbell is the editor of Printmaking Today, and writes widely on graphic art. Her poetry collection Disko Bay is published by Enitharmon Press.

LIST OF WORKS

LOUISE BOURGEOIS

1. Sainte SĂŠbastienne, 1992 Drypoint on paper, edition of 50 Sheet size: 120.5 x 94.3 cm Image size: 98.9 x 78.4 cm Published by Peter Blum Editions, New York 2. Father and Son, 2004 Etching, spit-bite and gouache on paper, edition of 17 Sheet size: 105.4 x 73.6 cm Image size: 74.9 x 54.9 cm Published by Osiris, New York

ANISH KAPOOR

Shadow III, 2009 A series of 9 colour etchings on paper, edition of 39 Published by Charles BoothClibborn under his imprint, The Paragon Press, London 5. No. 02 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm 6. No. 03 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm 7. No. 05 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm 8. No. 06 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

3. Janus, 2008 Drypoint printed with tone on fabric with stitched initials, edition of 20 Cloth size: 95.5 x 45 cm Image size: 79.4 x 32.7 cm Published by the Artist in honour of the 40th Anniversary of the Serpentine Gallery, London

9. No. 09 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

4. The Fragile, 2007 Archival dyes on fabric in 36 parts, edition of 7 All unique variants with hand painting Each: 29.2 x 24.1 cm Published by Carolina Nitsch, New York and Lison Editions, New York

11. No. 02 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

Horizon Shadow, 2010 A series of 9 etchings on paper, edition of 35 Published by Charles BoothClibborn under his imprint, The Paragon Press, London 10. No. 01 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

12. No. 03 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

13. No. 04 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 14. No. 05 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 15. No. 06 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 16. No. 07 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 17. No. 08 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 18. No. 09 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 19. Fold I, 2014 Etching from two sheets, edition of 20 Each sheet: 96.5 x 121.9 cm Framed size: 157 x 119.8 x 12.8 cm Published by Charles BoothClibborn under his imprint, The Paragon Press, London

20. Fold II, 2014 Etching from two sheets, edition of 20 Each sheet: 96.5 x 72.5 cm Framed size: 157 x 119.8 x 12.8 cm Published by Charles BoothClibborn under his imprint, The Paragon Press, London 21. Fold III, 2014 Etching from two sheets, edition of 20 Each sheet: 96.5 x 72.5 cm Framed size: 157 x 119.8 x 12.8 cm Published by Charles BoothClibborn under his imprint, The Paragon Press, London

ALL WORKS ILLUSTRATED ARE FOR SALE

RICHARD SERRA

22. Ballast III, 2011 Etching on paper, edition of 45 Sheet size: 91.5 x 66.8 cm Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles 23. Extension III, 2004 Etching on paper, edition of 58 Sheet size: 118.2 x 88.1 cm Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles 24. Level IV, 2010 Etching on paper, edition of 48 Sheet size: 73.7 x 165.1 cm Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles 25. Cool Down, 1996 Etching on paper, edition of 38 Sheet size: 84.5 x 108 cm Published by Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles

KIKI SMITH

Touch, 2006 A suite of 6 etchings with aquatint and drypoint on paper, edition of 33 Published by Harlan and Weaver, New York

33. Escapades 2, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 22.9 x 15.2 cm

26. Touch (Yellow Rose), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 41.9 x 27.9 cm

35. Escapades 4, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 15.2 x 10.8 cm

27. Touch (Hyacinth), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 59.7 x 45.1 cm

36. Escapades 5, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 15.9 x 10.8 cm

28. Touch (Hydrangea), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 55.9 x 36.8 cm

37. Escapades 6, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 21.6 x 15.2 cm

29. Touch (Lilies), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 55.9 x 36.8 cm

38. Escapades 7, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 22.9 x 15.2 cm

30. Touch (Peonies), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 55.9 x 36.8 cm

39. Escapades 8, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 15.2 x 12.1 cm

31. Touch (Small Bouquet), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 59.7 x 45.1 cm

40. Escapades 9, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 22.9 x 15.2 cm

Escapades, 2011 A suite of 9 etchings with hand colouring on paper, edition of 18 Published by Harlan and Weaver, New York

41. In a Bower, 2015 Colour etching and aquatint with hand colouring on paper, edition of 18 Sheet size: 85.7 x 113 cm Image size: 61 x 91.4 cm Published by Harlan and Weaver, New York

32. Escapades 1, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 15.2 x 15.2 cm

34. Escapades 3, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 15.2 x 11.4 cm

42. Ginzer, 2000 Etching, aquatint and drypoint on paper, edition of 24 Sheet size: 57.2 x 78.7 cm Image size: 45.7 x 61 cm Published by Harlan and Weaver, New York 43. Bird Skeleton, 2000 Etching, aquatint and drypoint on paper, edition of 24 Sheet size: 30.5 x 30.5 cm Image size: 15 x 15 cm Published by Harlan and Weaver, New York Jewel, 2004 A suite of 3 etchings with aquatint on paper, edition of 24 Published by Harlan and Weaver, New York 44. Jewel 1, 2004 Sheet size: 35.6 x 43.2 cm Image size: 21.6 x 27.9 cm 45. Jewel 2, 2004 Sheet size: 35.6 x 43.2 cm Image size: 21.6 x 27.9 cm 46. Jewel 3, 2004 Sheet size: 43.2 x 35.6 cm Image size: 27.9 x 21.6 cm

LOUISE BOURGEOIS

1. Sainte SĂŠbastienne, 1992 Drypoint on paper, edition of 50 Sheet size: 120.5 x 94.3 cm Image size: 98.9 x 78.4 cm

2. Father and Son, 2004 Etching, spit-bite and gouache on paper, edition of 17 Sheet size: 105.4 x 73.6 cm Image size: 74.9 x 54.9 cm 3. Janus, 2008 Drypoint printed with tone on fabric with stitched initials, edition of 20

Cloth size: 95.5 x 45 cm Image size: 79.4 x 32.7 cm

4. The Fragile, 2007 Archival dyes on fabric in 36 parts, edition of 7 All unique variants with hand painting Each: 29.2 x 24.1 cm

ANISH KAPOOR

Shadow III, 2009 A series of 9 colour etchings on paper, edition of 39

5. No. 02 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

6. No. 03 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

7. No. 05 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

8. No. 06 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

9. No. 09 Sheet size: 72.5 x 96.5 cm

Horizon Shadow, 2010 A series of 9 etchings on paper, edition of 35

10. No. 01 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

11. No. 02 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

12. No. 03 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

13. No. 04 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

14. No. 05 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

15. No. 06 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 16. No. 07 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 17. No. 08 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm 18. No. 09 Sheet size: 65 x 49 cm

19. Fold I, 2014 Etching from two sheets, edition of 20 Each sheet: 96.5 x 121.9 cm Framed size: 157 x 119.8 x 12.8 cm

20. Fold II, 2014 Etching from two sheets, edition of 20 Each sheet: 96.5 x 72.5 cm Framed size: 157 x 119.8 x 12.8 cm

21. Fold III, 2014 Etching from two sheets, edition of 20 Each sheet: 96.5 x 72.5 cm Framed size: 157 x 119.8 x 12.8 cm

RICHARD SERRA

22. Ballast III, 2011 Etching on paper, edition of 45 Sheet size: 91.5 x 66.8 cm 23. Extension III, 2004 Etching on paper, edition of 58 Sheet size: 118.2 x 88.1 cm

24. Level IV, 2010 Etching on paper, edition of 48 Sheet size: 73.7 x 165.1 cm

25. Cool Down, 1996 Etching on paper, edition of 38 Sheet size: 84.5 x 108 cm

KIKI SMITH

Touch, 2006 A suite of 6 etchings with aquatint and drypoint on paper, edition of 33 26. Touch (Yellow Rose), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 41.9 x 27.9 cm

28. Touch (Hydrangea), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 55.9 x 36.8 cm

30. Touch (Peonies), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 55.9 x 36.8 cm

27. Touch (Hyacinth), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 59.7 x 45.1 cm

29. Touch (Lilies), 2006 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 55.9 x 36.8 cm

31. Touch (Small Bouquet), 200 Sheet size: 76.2 x 55.9 cm Image size: 59.7 x 45.1 cm

Escapades, 2011 A suite of 9 etchings with hand colouring on paper, edition of 18 32. Escapades 1, 2011 Sheet size: 38.1 x 27.9 cm Image size: 15.2 x 15.2 cm