Solid Reflections

Louise Nevelson

"Solid Reflections" was created at Atelier 17 in New York in 1953-55 and a few trial proofs were pulled. It is one of 30 etchings Nevelson did at Atelier 17 in New York between 1953 and 1955. These prints were proved on various papers and printing records were not kept.

Stanley William Hayter would often encourage artists to take what they thought was a finished plate and push it further, to "destroy the plate." Nevelson used various intaglio methods on a single plate to create the images she was seeking. This series of 30 prints anticipate her growing interest in the black sculpture.

Gene Baro in the Pace catalog of Nevelson's prints commented: "The spatial ambiguities of the etched surface, the interplay of close values expressed in relative depth of etch and heaviness of inking, the treatment of the plate surface in terms of contrasting areas of light and dark along with tonal modulations and linear linkages and accents, become the visual issues or devices of her sculpture."

The "formal edition" was printed at the Hollander Graphic Workshop by Emiliano Sorini between 1965 and 1966 under the supervision of the artist and Irwin Hollander. This impression is from that edtition.