Prints from Advanced Graphics London
26 Oct — 14 Dec 2006
In the Sir Hugh Casson Room for Friends of the Royal Academy
I think the magic is in the tea. They make you a cup of Advanced Graphics tea when you arrive, then proceed to take your base metal and spin out of it as much gold as it will yield. More tea and a visit to the pub continues and extends the alchemy.
Albert Irvin RA
Albert Irvin RA, Borough I. Screenprint, edition size 125. Founded in 1967, Advanced Graphics London began as a screenprinting studio working for artists whose primary discipline was painting. The studio continues to provide technical assistance for artists who may not have extensive knowledge or experience of printmaking. It provides artists with the opportunity to make prints if they do not have the expertise or facilities to create multiples, or single images in a printed medium.
Based in South East London, Advanced Graphics is the only print studio in the UK to specialise in combining screenprinting techniques with woodblocking. The studio, which is also unusual for its continued use of oil-based ink rather than embracing the water based equivalent, is beneath the gallery. Using oil-based ink enables the application of many printed layers during the process, resulting in the highly textured surfaces and vibrant colours the studio is famous for. Advanced Graphics’ showing space exhibits the work made downstairs exclusively; the gallery presents the prints made by the dozen or so artists published by the studio since 1980.
The collaboration between an artist and their printer has been widely documented and Bob Saich, masterprinter and partner at Advanced Graphics, runs the studio. Bob and his colleagues have worked with an illustrious list of British artists including Academicians such as Craigie Aitchison, the recently elected Basil Beattie, the late Patrick Caulfield, Donald Hamilton Fraser, John Hoyland and Albert Irvin. Each artist published by Advanced Graphics applies an individual approach to making prints and consequently contributes to the development of the techniques used. This exhibition demonstrates the diversity of the work made in the studio by both Academicians and non-Members, highlighting some of the best of British printmaking from Advanced Graphics in recent years.
Contact details for further information and sales
Telephone 020 7300 5741
Email katherine.oliver@royalacademy.org.uk
