David Krut Projects is pleased to present Alone of its Kind, a group exhibition of artists working in collaboration with the David Krut Workshop to produce a variety of work in the monotype technique.
A monotype is a single impression created from a matrix applied with paint or ink. Yielding only one print, this technique is unique in that it cannot produce an edition of multiples. The pigment that remains after the pull is often insufficient to make a second impression unless more is applied. The application of further ink or the printing of the ‘ghost image’ will invariably create a different image, and thus each work is unique and unreplicable. While the show consists mostly of unique monotypes, a few of the artists have made monoprints. A monoprint incorporates multiple printed elements, some being etched plates, carved lino or wood, printed or embossed onto paper, along with unique printed ‘monotype’ elements. A series with common elements can be produced this way.
Alone of its Kind refers to this singularity, the origin of ‘mono-’ coming from the Greek mónos, meaning ‘alone.’ This project has introduced a number of artists to the synergetic nature of our printmaking studio, allowing artists who might typically work in isolation, alone in their studios, to work collaboratively with printers and with other artists simultaneously in the workshop.
This exhibition showcases the diversity of the monotype medium, and collaboration in its truest form. Master Printer Phil Sanders describes the accessibility of the medium, how it offers artists who may not have done printmaking before a new way of working and a new quality of mark.
Monotype offers artists an opportunity to step outside their regular studio practice while still working in a fluid, intuitive way that does not require the years of practice necessary for more technical print media. Painting a monotype on a non-absorptive matrix offers artists a whole host of aesthetic effects not associated with works on paper. In addition, monotypes can be worked additively or reductively with oil- or water-based, liquid or dry materials or even blocked with stencils or layered with multiple printings. – Phil Sanders in Prints and their Makers
Many of the artists included in the exhibition are first-time collaborators with DKW, while some have years of experience working with the team in a variety of techniques. The show highlights how each artist and their collaborating printmaker used the technique in their own unique way, harnessing the medium to suit their practice as well as allowing it to lead them into the unknown.
Artists
Maaike Bakker
Vusi Beauchamp
Olivia Botha
Fanie Buys
Hemali Khoosal
Heidi Fourie
Lebogang Mogul Mabusela
Maja Maljević
Mandlenkosi Mavengere
Clive Sithole
Mbali Tshabalala
Adele van Heerden
Collaborating Printers
Sarah Judge | Roxy Kaczmarek | Sbongiseni Khulu | Kim-Lee Loggenberg
EXHIBITION CREDITS:
Curated by Amé Bell Project management by Amé Bell Social media and podcasts by Brittany Lawton Framing by Pauline Meyer Installation by Mark & Question of Mark Sinoff Exhibits Project administration by Tiina Liebenberg Exhibition text material compiled by Melissa Waters Online viewing room by Melissa Waters Vinyl by Design A SignsWith special thanks to David Krut, the artists, and the printers Kim-Lee Loggenberg, Sbongiseni Khulu, Roxy Kaczmarek and Sarah Judge