Untitled (LA MoCA portfolio)

Martin PuryearWW-1999-130705

1999·Hard and soft ground etching and aquatint, on cream Japanese paper, laid down on white wove paper (chine collé)·Image/plate: 60.5 × 45 cm (23 7/8 × 17 3/4 in.); Sheet: 76 × 54.5 cm (29 15/16 × 21 1/2 in.)

<p>After a nearly 30-year break, Puryear returned to printmaking when he was invited to contribute to a portfolio to benefit the Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art. Typical of his evocative shapes, the motif seen here can be interpreted as a head with hoop earrings or as an inverted jug with handles. This work also represents the artist’s foray into the chine collé technique, whereby a thin silky sheet of paper (chine) is laid down on a primary support sheet during printing. As the chine picks up minute particles of ink, it lends extraordinary depth to the etched black area.</p>

Catalogue

Year: 1999
Medium: Hard and soft ground etching and aquatint, on cream Japanese paper, laid down on white wove paper (chine collé)
Dimensions: Image/plate: 60.5 × 45 cm (23 7/8 × 17 3/4 in.); Sheet: 76 × 54.5 cm (29 15/16 × 21 1/2 in.)
Collection: Art Institute of Chicago
Artist: Martin Puryear

Artist

Martin Puryear

Sculpture

Martin L. Puryear is an American artist known for his devotion to traditional craft. Working in a variety of media, but primarily wood, his reductive technique and meditative approach challenge the physical and poetic boundaries of his materials.

Washington, D.C., USA

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