Francesc Guitart - Painted blind print from the 'Ivory' series plus signed poster

Beautiful engraving by Francesc Guitart from the Ivory series (so named because the entire series has the color of (old) ivory). Dimensions 90 x 64 cm, numbered 19/60 in pencil and signed. Never framed, in good condition, considering the age of a blank sheet.
Francesc Guitart was a highly versatile artist, born on April 1, 1936, in Barcelona, where he lived and worked his entire life. He passed away in 2020. His artistic output encompassed work in all possible disciplines of the plastic arts: paintings, sculptures (in paper, wood, and bronze), engravings, artist's books, etc. He also established himself as a photographer with a highly distinctive oeuvre. His work was brought to the international stage by prestigious European galleries (in Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Luxembourg), as well as in Tokyo (Japan) and New York (USA). For many years, the Barcelona gallery “Eude” exhibited his work at the major European art fairs. On several occasions, a beautiful catalogue was produced for each exhibition. In Belgium, his work was shown in several prominent galleries: Amaryllis (Brussels), De Mijlpaal (Heusden-Zolder), Stichting Veranneman (Kruishoutem), etc. On the occasion of its 25th anniversary, KULAK invited him for a major exhibition on its campus (see poster). His work is held in various major museums: The Brooklyn Museum in New York (USA), the Museum of Art of the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh (USA), the Cabinet des Estampes de la Bibliothèque Nationale de Paris (France), the Staëlsche Kunstinstitut in Frankfurt (Germany), and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona (Spain).


THE ENGRAVINGS OF FRANCESC GUITART

The engravings produced by Guitart are painted blind prints. A blind print is made by painting a motif with resin onto the unworked etching plate and then placing that plate in an acid bath for 24 to 36 hours. The resin protects the iron from the corrosive effect of the acid, which attacks the plate wherever it was not covered with resin by the paintbrush. Consequently, the plate slowly acquires an uneven surface in the acid bath. The motif applied to the plate with resin by the artist remains unaffected, while the surrounding plate slowly corrodes away. The plate thus treated is then pressed onto it without color, so that only the relief of the plate is pressed into the paper, and the artist thus obtains a white sheet in which the motif he painted with resin on the etching plate is now rendered in relief. This is what is called a blind print.
For Guitart, this blind impression became the starting point for the coloring. Using various materials and dyes, he proceeded to finish the engraving by coloring the sheet in a unique way. Each engraving thus became a one-of-a-kind, as every blind impression was colored in a new, original manner. Francesc Guitart's engravings are therefore particularly attractive not only for their aesthetics, but also, and not least, for the technique: only the relief in the sheet is repeated (in an edition of 30 to a maximum of 60 copies), while the individual coloring of the sheet made each work a new, original piece.

Shipping in a reusable tube only within the European Community. PLEASE NOTE: the shipping costs are NOT what I had to enter further down here, as the amounts allowed here do not always cover the actual cost. The cheapest shipping costs (with track and trace) are as follows:                        1. With Post.NL: within Belgium: €12; to the Netherlands: €16, to Germany: €16 (insured: + €2.50 for each country),                                                                                                                                                                   2. With Bpost to Luxembourg or France: €22, to all other EC countries: €40 (insured: + €3.50 each time). 
In the case of multiple sales, the sheets will be shipped together in pairs at no extra cost.