Print Week in New York is in full swing, with both the 34th iteration of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) Fair and the inaugural Brooklyn Fine Art Print Fair open to the public through the weekend. The shows draw a mixture of seasoned collectors and newfound enthusiasts, as the medium is often seen as an accessible “gateway” for acquiring art due to its lower price point.
“Not to say that [prints] are cheap, but they’re certainly much more affordable than a unique work of art,” explained Madeleine Viljoen, curator of prints at the New York Public Library (NYPL). “People who can’t afford to have a painting by Kara Walker may be able to purchase a print by her.”
So what should a first-time buyer keep an eye out for at the fairs this week?
“I always suggest that collectors look for prints that are an extension of an artist’s practice, rather than a reproduction of it,” said Elleree Erdos, director of prints and editions at David Zwirner. “The strongest prints are identifiable as the work of the artist who made them, while also leaning into the strengths and possibilities of the medium.”
“The medium is also seen by artists as a way to experiment and introduce new ideas and concepts into their practice,” Erdos continued, adding that print projects frequently give artists “a fresh outlook on ideas of seriality, reversal, and the effects of pressure or compression on an image.”
Right: Delita Martin, “Two Moons” (2022) (© Delita Martin, courtesy NYPL)
The relative affordability of prints is partially because they are frequently produced in editions. Created by drawing or carving an image onto a matrix, which can consist of a woodblock, metal plate, stone, or other material, prints are impressions produced when the matrix is inked and applied to a surface such as paper. Editions, or sets, are a certain number of impressions created with the matrix. The number of impressions created for an edition is typically shown via a number written in pencil at the corner or edge of a print work.
Jazmine Catasus, artistic director of the Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts’s Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop, told Hyperallergic that she keeps her eyes peeled for non-editioned prints, or works produced by an artist that are not part of a set of multiples.
“Printmaking is often associated with the multiple, so when there is a work created in the medium of prints, but there’s only one, it’s always exciting to see,” Catasus said.
Artist’s proofs, often sought-after by collectors at fairs, are also works outside of an edition, created during proofing sessions when the artist is still working on creating the control print, Catasus explained.
Screenprints, lithographs, and etchings are generally some of the most popular types of prints. Among Catasus’s favorites are intaglios, or prints created with a metal-plate printmaking technique in which the design is recessed into the matrix’s surface. It’s the direct opposite of a relief print, which is created when the matrix’s surface is cut away so that the image is created through the raised remnants.
Like Erdos, Viljoen noted that she tends to look for works by printmakers who are attempting to challenge the medium by incorporating other materials and disciplines. As an example, she cited mixed-media prints involving a combination of textile and embroidery practices that were featured in the exhibition Line & Thread: Prints and Textiles from the 1600s to the Present at the NYPL last September.
“You can also think about other ways in which artists combine media, like wood-cutting and intaglio printmaking, or formatting,” Viljoen mentioned.
One of the best ways to gain an understanding of the different and sometimes enigmatic printmaking methods is simply to approach a work’s publisher or dealer.
“It’s always worth learning about the process for a given print and how involved an artist was in its creation,” Erdos said, noting that the IFPDA Fair is a great opportunity to broaden one’s knowledge about the evolution of printmaking techniques across several centuries.
“That can give you a greater understanding and appreciation for the labor of printmaking, and usually where there’s a great story, there’s a great print,” she added.
But process and budget aside, the most crucial element to consider when investing in a print is always personal preference. “Ultimately, the only thing to avoid is something that isn’t exciting to you,” Erdos said.
Echoing this advice, Viljoen said that she always encourages people to “not invest in a name, but really invest in a work of art they love.”
“ I do think that’s what ultimately matters: not whether a work will look good over your sofa, but whether you really love it,” Viljoen said.
