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Julie Mehretu This Manifestation of Historical Restlessness, 2022

Julie Mehretu
This Manifestation of Historical Restlessness, 2022
10-panel etching/aquatint from 50 plates
93 1/2 x 173 1/8 inches
Edition of 28

Henri Matisse Jazz, 1947

Henri Matisse
Jazz, 1947
Twenty pochoirs printed in colors
Each sheet approximately: 16 3/4 x 25 1/2 inches
Edition of 250

John Baldessari Eight Soups, 2012

John Baldessari
Eight Soups, 2012
Eight multi-color screenprints
Each: 38 x 24 1/4 inches
Each framed: 41 1/4 x 27 1/4 x 2 inches
Edition of 50

Terry Winters Album, 1988

Terry Winters
Album, 1988
Portfolio of 9 etchings with aquatint
Plates, each: 20 1/2 x 16 inches
Sheets, each: 26 1/2 x 21 inches
Framed, each: 27 5/8 x 22 1/8 x 1 3/8 inches
Edition of 50

Polly Apfelbaum Heart and Soul, 2020

Polly Apfelbaum
Heart and Soul, 2020
Portfolio of 9 woodblock prints
16 1/4 x 16 1/4 inches
Edition of 30

Charles Gaines Numbers and Trees: Palm Canyon, Palm Series 4, Tree #1-4, 2021

Charles Gaines
Numbers and Trees: Palm Canyon, Palm Series 4, Tree #1-4, 2021
Each: color aquatint, spitbite aquatint and chine collé with printed acrylic box
Each: 62 x 35 x 3 1/2 inches
Edition of 35
© Charles Gaines. Courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth. Photo: Fredrik Nilsen

Odili Donald Odita Bliss (Purple, Blue, Red), 2022

Odili Donald Odita
Bliss (Purple, Blue, Red), 2022
A set of three color aquatints with soft ground etching
Each sheet: 32 1/2 x 23 1/2 inches
Edition of 10

Nina Chanel Abney

Nina Chanel Abney
CREW, 2021
Set of seven collaged works on panel
Dimensions vary, as installed: 76 x 214 inches
Edition of 10
© Nina Chanel Abney. Photo courtesy of the artist and Pace Prints. 

Press Release

Berggruen Gallery is proud to announce Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets, an exhibition of etchings and intaglios, pochoirs, lithographs, screenprints, and woodblock prints. Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets will be on view from June 15 through July 22, 2023. The gallery will host an opening reception on Thursday, June 15, from 5:00 to 7:00 pm. 

Throughout history, artists have created work in series, producing collections of images, repetitive forms, and cohesive graphic languages. In the last century, the practice of creating serial prints witnessed an extraordinary surge as visionaries from the conceptual and pop art movements embraced the sequential format, propelling it to newfound prominence and cultural relevancy. This exhibition will explore the compelling methodologies in which artists employ printmaking techniques to communicate unconventional concepts and push the boundaries of their chosen medium. Whether it involves utilizing multiple prints to convey a progressive narrative or extending the subject across multiple sheets, this presentation delves into the possibilities of sequential printmaking.

The artworks showcased in Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets were created with a diverse range of techniques and hybrid processes, including pochoir, etching and intaglio, lithography, screenprinting, and woodcut. The exhibition is grounded by the complete sets of Henri Matisse’s groundbreaking Jazz from 1947, a portfolio of twenty colorful pochoirs from the artist’s cut-out series, and Wayne Thiebaud’s canonical Delights from 1964, a suite of seventeen intimate etchings of confections and foods. Serial Imagery presents an array of contemporary approaches to serial production, demonstrating how seminal artists engaged and experimented with the tradition of printmaking. It includes works by:

Nina Chanel Abney
Brice Marden
Odili Donald Odita
Polly Apfelbaum
Henri Matisse
Kiki Smith
John Baldessari
Julie Mehretu
Wayne Thiebaud
Charles Gaines
Robert Motherwell
Ellsworth Kelly
Terry Winters

Artist Nina Chanel Abney's CREW displays sentimental portraits of friends and fellow creatives, employing bold shapes and vibrant hues to create iconic images that celebrate the significance of collective support. In Heart and Soul, a portfolio of nine woodblock prints, Polly Apfelbaum ventures beyond her customary use of primary and secondary colors, delving into freshly imagined color combinations to create modernist heart-shaped design patterns. In Eight Soups, John Baldessari utilizes serial repetition to play with the iconic imagery of Henri Matisse’s 1912 painting, Goldfish and Sculpture, together with a nod to Andy Warhol’s ubiquitous soup can series, creating a vibrant series of eight screenprints. Serial Imagery presents a diverse range of contemporary approaches to serial print production. Whether the focus is experimenting with shifting chromatic pairings, expanding upon a conceptual narrative, or subverting historical iconography, these portfolio and print sets denote an interest in transcending disciplinary boundaries imposed by the notion of singularity. 

Additionally, the exhibition celebrates the important contribution of fine printing presses and publishers in the process of creating and distributing serial prints. Each of these presses played a critical role in the serialization of the artist’s vision, from planning to execution. Prints in the exhibition were created at Crown Point Press, San Francisco; Durham Press, Durham, PA; Gemini G.E.L., Los Angeles; Paulson Fontaine Press, Berkeley; and Tériade, Paris; among others.

Serial Imagery: Portfolios & Prints in Sets, June 15 – July 22, 2023. On view at 10 Hawthorne Street, San Francisco, CA 94105. Images and preview are available upon request. For all inquiries, please contact the gallery by phone at (415) 781-4629 or by email at info@berggruen.com.