Blue Swimmer

Blue Swimmer, 2023

50 x 60 cm

lithography

Miniseries edition: 30 copies

Available on YRA: 18/30, 19/30, 20/30, 21/30, 22/30, 23/30 and 24/30

Paper type: white offset paper 300 g

Signed, numbered, dated, embossed

Printed in the Říční Lithographic Workshop, Prague, 2023

This is the second time this year that I have had the opportunity to create in the longest-running lithographic workshop in the Czech Republic. Lithography, also known as stone printing, is a very old and at the same time technologically demanding printing technique that uses the principle of mutual repulsion of grease and water. The creation of the work was therefore a huge experience and a fascinating sight for me. I gradually apply the drawing to the polished lithographic stone, which is then stabilized on the stone by the master printer using a series of chemical reactions and then printed from the stone onto paper. The entire process is repeated with each additional color.

Thanks to the fact that the procedure is very time-consuming and complex, I had the opportunity to spend an entire late October week in the Říční lithographic workshop on the Lesser Town, in a house that was originally used by the Čapek brothers.

The result is the lithograph BLUE SWIMMER.

The subject, which comes from a small oil painting, seamlessly continues the latest series of paintings with the theme of aquariums. These are a parallel to the care of one's own inner world. The curator and art publicist Bára Alex Kašparová perfectly described my thoughts on this series in the text to my last exhibition with The Chemistry Gallery.

Although lithographs are usually printed in editions of 60 to 100 copies, Blue Swimmer is only available in a miniseries of 30 graphic prints, which increases the value and exclusivity of the work. P. H.