Dimensions: unconfirmed: 670 x 800 mm
Copyright: © Estate of Patrick Heron. All Rights Reserved, DACS 2014 | CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 DEED, Photo: Tate
Editor: This is an untitled print by Patrick Heron. The arrangement of the black shapes is pretty striking. What do you see in the composition that stands out? Curator: Observe how the shapes interplay. There is a tension between their individual forms and the overall pattern. The negative space, the pale ground, is just as crucial. Editor: It’s almost like the shapes are fighting for space. Curator: Precisely. Heron manipulates figure and ground, creating a dynamic surface. Consider, too, the materiality—the texture and density of the ink itself. Editor: I hadn't considered the texture so much! It’s less random than I thought. Curator: A closer look reveals intention. Always look beyond the initial impression to decode the artist's choices. Editor: Definitely something to remember. Thanks for pointing that out!
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The suite of prints from which this etching is taken is one of the last works Patrick Heron made before his death. Over a period of three months between December 1998 and March 1999, Heron worked in his studio with the printer Hugh Stoneman, making drawings for fifteen works in total, from which he selected the eleven plates that make up the portfolio. He finished the drawing for the colophon page on the morning of the day he died. Heron approved the proofs and decided on a sequence for presenting the works shortly before his death. The etchings were printed posthumously, overseen by the artist’s two daughters.