The Redfern Gallery
Marks and Moves, in Print
Marks and Moves, in Print
Linda Karshan
Linda Karshan’s most recent series of etchings (Glint I - VII, 2016) was undertaken in New York in collaboration with printmaker Gregory Burnet. The series started life as a set of drawings, made in Burnet’s studio. The drawings were laid over white transfer paper on top of the printing plate, which allowed the drawings to be gently ‘inscribed’ using a pencil, through the paper onto the waxy ground that covers the metal printing plate. Once the paper was lifted, a clear white drawing remained on the grounded plate. Using a diamond tipped etching stylus, the drawing was incised into the ground twice and then twice directly into the copper plate to achieve the ‘burr’ that is typical of drypoint.
In keeping with the rest of her way of working, Karshan continued to seek out graceful means of enacting marks: sustained by her count, shifting her weight and bringing her concentration to fully bear on the convergence of the line on the plate. You can see the way that the marks evolve across the series of the prints, both in complexity and in the increased assurance (or confidence) of the mark. The ‘glints’ or gaps between the lines indicate the moments of pause, rest, intake of breath, before the pressure of the mark is once again borne down onto the plate. The finished plates were placed in acid, allowing the areas of the plate exposed by the drawing process to be ‘etched’ by the acid. Burnet, as the printmaker, decided how long the plate needed to be in the acid to get a deep, clean etch. After inking, the plates were meticulously wiped and buffed before going through the press, to expose the clarity and fragility of the inscribed line.
Elizabeth Tomos
Four of Karshan's woodcuts conclude Marks and Moves, in print. Karshan describes how she began 'sketching my way on paper, to establish rhythms and movements which gave rise to the ladder-like forms in these prints.'
Image Credit:
Woodblocks on table
Guided by what she calls her “inner choreography,” Karshan makes spare, monochromatic, abstract prints and drawings that serve as direct reflections of the process of their making.
Linda Karshan placing woodblocks
The artist note-making
© 2018 Ishmael Annobil; All Rights Reserved
Guided by what she calls her “inner choreography,” Karshan makes spare, monochromatic, abstract prints and drawings that serve as direct reflections of the process of their making. Though she began her career producing expressive compositions, in 1994 she developed a performance-based method for making work, in which every mark is associated with her rhythmic and regulated breathing, her counter-clockwise turning of the paper, the motion of her entire body, and the musical way in which she counts off increments of time. Karshan’s method results in iterative images of intersecting lines, forming grids, geometric shapes and patterns, and, sometimes, ordered yet loosely scribbled marks repeating across the page.
The first drawing by Linda Karshan to enter the British Museum was purchased from The Redfern Gallery in 1994. 26 years later, we are delighted to present at IFPDA Online a selection of Karshan's etching and drypoint prints and woodcuts.
The Redfern Gallery was founded in September 1923 on the top floor of Redfern House at 27 Old Bond Street, London, as a small artists' cooperative. It is now one of the longest-established dealers of Modern British and Contemporary art in London. Today the Redfern represents over 30 contemporary artists and artists' estates. It also has an extensive stock of modern and contemporary paintings, drawings, watercolours, sculpture and original prints.