Peruvian Portals (with poem by David St. John) by Holly Downing

Peruvian Portals (with poem by David St. John) by Holly Downing

Peruvian Portals (with poem by David St. John)

Holly Downing

Please call us at 707-546-7352 or email artannex@aol.com to purchase this item.
Title

Peruvian Portals (with poem by David St. John)

 
Artist

Holly Downing

  1948 - PRESENT (biography)
Year
2009 /2013 
Technique
livres d'artiste with loose mezzotints and typeset poems 
Image Size
4 3/8 x 5 7/8" platemarks. 10-1/8 x 10-1/8" paper. 
Signature
Each print signed by the artist; signed by artist and David St. John on colophon 
Edition Size
14/15. The edition totals 15. The first 3 are a deluxe version with a matted drawing by Downing; the 
Annotations
Typeset colophon, pencil editioned on colophon 
Reference
 
Paper
white Rives BFK wove 
State
published 
Publisher
artist and David St. John 
Inventory ID
HD231 
Price
$2,000.00 
Description

This artist's book is a collaborative effort between mezzotint printmaker Holly Downing and American poet David St John that resulted in a book of 7 mezzotints and accompanying typeset poetry. Quoted from the colophon: Peruvian Portals was created in homage to the people and culture of the Andes. In that spirit, David St. John's opening poem, "Doorway Song", has been printed in Kichwa, an Ecuadorian subcategory of Quechua. The translation was done Margot Cifuentes of Ecuador.

The theme of passageways has been one that Holly Downing has revisited throughout her career, in particular in the two series Peruvian Portals and Passaggio. Downing observes that these portals '...leads a traveler from one viewpoint to another: from an interior to an exterior, or from one main arterial street to another through an alleyway.' Passageways often indicate change; in Downing’s softly rendered mezzotints, capturing the gradual contrast of light and shadow, she invites the viewer to wonder what is on the other side - what, if possible, will change when they’ve passed through the portal.

Mezzotint is a form of engraving, whose subtle qualities are achieved with tone rather than line. The artist spends many hours “rocking” a copper plate until the plate has thousands of tiny holes, each with a bit of raised burr that hold a tremendous amount of ink. A fully rocked plate prints a lush, velvety black, unparalleled in any other medium. To obtain an image, the artist scrapes the surface of the plate, variously lowering the levels of the burrs so they will hold less ink and thereby yield gradations of dark and light. Gradually an image emerges out of the darkness. The plate is inked by hand and printed on an etching press.

 

Please call us at 707-546-7352 or email artannex@aol.com to purchase this item.