BORCH Gallery & Editions
John Zurier: Etchings & Monotypes
John Zurier: Etchings & Monotypes
John Zurier
John Zurier’s visual language is minimal and at the same time very distinct: Linear elements build up space through an interaction of presence and absence. Inspired by observations of natural phenomena, light conditions and colour, the works convey a characteristic calmness and purity. This online presentation comprises etchings, which demand a rather time consuming process, as well as monotypes that Zurier sees as an opportunity to 'move quickly and play with different ideas and motifs.'
The soft ground etchings from the 'October' series (2017) have been influenced by the experimental print works of the Dutch artist Hercules Seghers (1589–1638), one of the most prolific print makers of his time, who printed different versions of the same plate. Zurier decided to have the four etching plates in the series each printed in a color and in a grey edition. In the four color etchings, he was looking for a 'balance between color and atmosphere, surface modulation and naturalness.' When trying different colors, he discovered how much they affect the tone and the grain of each line. Significant for the grey works was how the grey 'brought out nuances in each print that were too blunt when printed in a pure black.'
For the monotypes, Zurier worked with watercolor on either an old copper plate or a plastic board. The ones on copper turned out to have a greater transparency in the color while the traces on the old plates added to the experience of surprise and discovery which made it so important for Zurier to work in that medium. Working rather intuitively with the wet color on the blank surface of the plate, he focused on 'creating a feeling of color emerging from light.'
Image Credit:
John Zurier, October 2 (Green), 2017
What I like about etching is that it is a mental and physical construction involving both a direct and an indirect process. And there is nothing like an etched line. It carries an authority, presence and weight all its own. Even haphazard incidental lines, random scratches, and the most delicate wavering marks remain with clarity.
John Zurier
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Colours for John Zurier's etchings
John Zurier explaining his fascination for etching
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One of John Zurier's etchings being pulled off the printing plate
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John Zurier signing one of his monotypes
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October 3 (Grey)
John Zurier
2017
46 x 31,5 cm (image); 63 x 46 cm (paper)
Soft ground etching on Hahnemühle Bütten 300 g
Published by BORCH Editions
Edition of 6
1.800 EUR excl. VAT
John Zurier
Untitled
2017
50 x 39,5 cm (paper); 63 x 51,5 cm (framed)
Monotype on Somerset
Published by BORCH Editions
Unique, only available with frame
3.450 EUR excl. VAT
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John Zurier
October 4 (Blue)
2017
40,5 x 26 cm (image); 57 x 40 cm (paper)
Soft ground etching, drypoint, scraping, burnishiSng on Hahnemühle Bütten 300 g
Published by BORCH Editions
Edition of 12
1.600 EUR excl. VAT
John Zurier
Untitled
2017
62,5 x 73 cm (image); 75,5 x 83 cm (paper); 80,5 x 88 cm (framed)
Monotype on Hahnemühle Bütten 300 g
Published by BORCH Editions
Unique, only available with frame
6.500 excl. VAT
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JOHN ZURIER, born 1956 in Santa Monica, lives and works in Berkeley, California and Reykjavik, Iceland. His work is exhibited internationally at venues like Galerie Nordenhake (Stockholm 2019), Peter Blum Gallery (New York, 2019), BORCH Gallery (Berlin, 2018), SFMOMA (San Francisco, 2018), THE CLUB (Tokyo, 2017), and the UC Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley (2014). He participated in the 30th São Paulo Biennial (São Paulo, 2012), the California Biennial at the Orange County Museum of Art (Newport Beach, 2010), the 7th Gwangju Biennial (South Korea, 2008), and the Whitney Biennial at the Whitney Museum of American Art (New York, 2002). He is represented in numerous international private and public collections, notably are the Berkeley Art Museum, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and Moderna Museet, Stockholm among others.
John Zurier has been collaborating with BORCH Editions since 2016.
Get in touch with
BORCH Gallery & Editions
BORCH Editions & Print Studio: Prags Boulevard 49, 2300 Copenhagen S // BORCH Gallery: Goethestr. 79, 10623 Berlin
+49 30 6150 7448