Bridget Riley, Intervals 3; Blue/Green, Orange/Blue, Green/Purple, 2021
It’s that time of year again - we are thrilled to share that we'll soon be heading back to Somerset House for the 38th edition of the London Original Print Fair. This year you’ll find us in room W8, at the far end of West Wing, overlooking the beautiful courtyard as you enter from the Strand.
We have been busy acquiring some wonderful new pieces that we can’t wait to share with you. Keep reading to find the works which I am personally particularly excited to bring to the fair! Each of these works has been framed to conservation standard by our expert framing team and includes a Certificate of Authenticity - all of which is included in the given prices.
If there are any works on our website that you’d like to see at the fair then please don't hesitate to let me know and I’ll do my best to facilitate this for you.
The fair will run from Thursday 30th March – Sunday 2nd April. If you are interested in attending, please email me on juliet@hiddengallery.co.uk. I look forward to welcoming you to the fair and showing you our collection!
Bridget Riley, Intervals 3; Blue/Green, Orange/Blue, Green/Purple, 2021
This exquisite triptych of prints refers directly to a group of paintings known as the Intervals series. Begun by Riley in 2018, they are an extension of her lifelong fascination with the way we perceive and experience colour in the world.
Each composition is defined by five blocks of four coloured stripes in muted purple, turquoise, green and orange, divided and bounded by the white of the unprinted paper. Alternating passages of contrast and harmony within each segment suggest the flow of music, and by varying the arrangement of colours Riley controls the speed at which we process the image. The percussive clarity of the white intervals affords the composition a sense of flawless control and poise, condensing an entire spectrum of sensation into an elegant and immutable order.
Amongst her more recent works, this triptych masterfully demonstrates the artist's fully realised powers to forge new dialogues between vision and understanding. Recent years have seen Riley's market go from strength to strength - it doesn't get much hotter than this!
Howard Hodgkin, Alexander Street, 1978
In addition to being one of Britain's most acclaimed painters, Howard Hodgkin was also a devoted printmaker. Over the course of fifty years he produced over one hundred separate editions using the full spectrum of print techniques.
His images were largely abstract, though not entirely so. In his own words, he was “...a representational painter, but not a painter of appearances. I paint representational pictures of emotional situations.” Prints such as 'Alexander Street' relate specifically to memory, referencing people, places and moments from the artist's life.
In this image the areas of red and yellow have been brushed onto the lithographic base by hand. The water-bound pigments were allowed to pool and bead unpredictably on top of the oil-based printing ink. This particular impression features a rich and lively surface, with the red gouache having settled particularly nicely. 'Alexander Street' is a terrific example of what can be considered the middle phase of Hodgkin's career as a printmaker, set between the crisp, graphic works of the late 60s to early 70s, and the almost sculptural carborundum etchings that he began to produce in 1986.
Pablo Picasso, Colombe de la Paix, 1961
This lithograph was created to adorn a poster advertising the 1962 Congress for the National Peace Movement in Paris. One of Picasso's most celebrated designs, the image was issued without text in a signed edition of 200 on Arches paper and a deluxe signed edition of only 30 on Japan nacré paper. This deluxe edition hardly ever comes up for sale and this is the first time we've ever been able to acquire one. It only took nine years! Japan nacré is the glory of Japanese papermaking, with a depth and subtlety that makes the image sing. This print is the last word in luxury and rarity, a fitting testament to one of the most desirable and investible images in art history.
As a hand-signed edition of only 30 in this format, opportunities to acquire this lithograph are incredibly rare. A desirable image in a tiny edition size, this print would be the jewel in any collection. No portfolio of work by Picasso is complete without it!
Alexander Calder, Untitled, c. 1970s
Known for his iconic abstract "mobile" sculptures, Calder was also a prolific printmaker, particularly in the latter part of his career. Most of his original prints are lithographs that abound with geometric lines, spirals, flattened biomorphic forms and pyramids. In this untitled work from the 1970s, red and blue forms dance within a saturated field of yellow, recalling the sense of movement and rhythm that defines his greatest work.
Bold, bright and in phenomenal condition despite its age, this eye-catching piece would make a phenomenal addition to any collection of abstract art.
Andy Warhol, Marilyn Invitation (Castelli Graphics), 1981
A fabulously bold image of Warhol's most iconic subject, published as the invitation to the exhibition 'Andy Warhol: A Print Retrospective 1963-81', held by the Leo Castelli Gallery.
Most major American artists of the latter 20th century were represented by Castelli at one point or another. He famously exhibited Warhol's 'Campbell's Soup Cans' in 1962 and the 'Flowers' paintings in 1964. Known as one of the greatest publicists of American art, he maintained a close working relationship with Warhol well into the 1980s.
This piece is a miniature reproduction of a work from the very first portfolio of prints made by Warhol's publishing business Factory Additions, set up in 1967. The series contained ten portraits of Marilyn in a variety of colour variations. No other subject in Warhol's oeuvre expresses more elegantly his extraordinary understanding of the power of images, and the complex nature of fame. Simple, flat and seemingly impenetrable, the veneer of glamour conceals darker and more profound truths about the human condition.
Frank Stella, Untitled (Angriff), 1971
An original screenprint from the portfolio Conspiracy: The Artist as Witness, featuring works donated by various artists to help fund the legal defence of the Chicago Eight in the USA in 1971. These prominent anti-war figures campaigned against the convictions of the Chicago Eight (who became the Chicago Seven after one acquittal) with the publication of twelve original lithographs and screenprints. Contributors included Alexander Calder, Sol LeWitt, Claes Oldenberg and Bridget Riley. Eventually in November 1972 the imprisoned members of the Chicago Seven were released after an appeal found evidence of cultural and racial bias throughout the trial.
This piece captures Stella's work at its most elegant, minimal and iconic. It has never previously been framed.
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