BLEED, BLEND, BLOCK OUT, BURN
29th April - 4th June 2022

Preview: Thursday 28th April 5.30 – 7.30pm

Screen printing is the process of pressing ink through a stencilled mesh screen, made from fabric stretched tightly over a frame, to create a printed design. This exhibition features a selection of screenprints by Barbara Rae, Alex Charrington, Albert Irvin, Kelly Stewart, James Williamson Bell, Ray Richardson and Hughie O'Donoghue.

Prints in this exhibition by Ray Richardson, Hughie O’Donoghue and Albert Irvin were produced with the artists at Advanced Graphics London

To start, the printer takes the design they want to create, and prints it out, or draws it, onto a transparent acetate film. This will be used to create the stencil. Next, a thin coat of light-sensitive emulsion is spread onto the fabric screen. The acetate film featuring the design is then laid onto the emulsion-coated screen, and the whole thing is exposed to a very bright light. The light hardens the emulsion, so the parts of the screen which are covered by the design remain in liquid form. The liquid emulsion is washed off, leaving behind a stencil. Finally, using a squeegee, the ink is pressed through the stencil onto the paper

Screen printing originated in China, around AD 221, as a way of transferring designs onto fabrics. Following this, the Japanese began using simple stencilling techniques to create imagery - stencils were cut out of paper and the mesh was woven from human hair. Stiff brushes were used to force ink through the mesh onto the fabric. It was due to the success of the Japanese textiles display at World Fairs that the craftsmen in Europe began to experiment with the medium. The practice of stretching silk over a frame to use for printing started in France in the 17th century.

The process began to be used by artists in America in the 1930s and the term ‘serigraph’ was used to denote an artists’ print, as opposed to commercial work. In the 1960s Pop artists like Peter Blake, Andy Warhol, Richard Hamilton, and Robert Rauschenberg used screen printing as an integral part of their practice, thus establishing and popularising it as a medium for creating contemporary art.

-

Barbara Rae CBE RA FRSE is a Scottish painter/printmaker and a member of the Royal Scottish Academy and the Royal Academy of Arts.

Alex Charrington is a Newcastle based abstract artist working in printmaking, painting and drawing.

Albert Irvin OBE RA (1922 – 2015) was an English expressionist abstract artist. During his life, he exhibited extensively throughout Europe and in Australia and America.

Kelly Stewart is an Australian illustrator and printmaker based in Edinburgh. Kelly draws cityscapes which are later translated into screenprints

James Williamson Bell (1938 – 2010) was a pitman painter, wildlife artist and printmaker who lived and worked in Newcastle.

Ray Richardson is a contemporary British artist known for his cinematic paintings. He lives and works in London. 

Hugie O'Donoghue is an artist, painter & writer. He was born in Manchester, England and now lives and works in London and Co Mayo, Ireland.

Prints by Ray Richardson, Hugie O’Donoghue and Albert Irvin were produced with the artists at Advanced Graphics, London.

WORK FOR SALE

CONTACT US:
0191 261 4465

Open Tuesday to Friday 10.30am – 5.00pm
Saturday 11.00am – 4.00pm
Closed Sunday, Monday and Bank Holidays