Major new body of etchings by British artist Ian Davenport at Alan Cristea Gallery

Prismatic Diptych, 2011. Colour etching diptych on Hahnemühle Bright. White 300 gsm papers. Paper 199.5 x 193.0 cm / Image 181.5 x 177.0 cm (overall) Edition of 15.© Ian Davenport. Courtesy Alan Cristea Gallery, London.

LONDON.- The Alan Cristea Gallery presents a major new body of etchings by British artist Ian Davenport in an exhibition entitled Prismatic, from 8 October until 12 November 2011. Ian Davenport was born in Kent in 1966. He is one of the now fabled generation of Young British Artists who participated in the seminal 1988 exhibition Freeze, in 1991 he was shortlisteded for the Turner Prize and in 1999 was a prize winner in the John Moores Exhibition. His work was part of the 2003 Tate Triennale and is held in numerous public collections including the Arts Council of Great Britain, the Dallas Museum of Art, Tate Gallery, London, Weltkunst Collection, Zurich and Southampton City Art Gallery. Davenport is celebrated for his exploration into the nature of materials and colour and this exhibition, presents 14 new works each displaying subtle three-dimensional effects and fizzing with iridescent, jewel-like colours. "It is always so exciting to be the catalyst between an artist and the production of an outstanding body of work, and particularly to collaborate with an artist who is as innovative and technically accomplished as Ian Davenport," says Alan Cristea. Prismatic Diptych, 2011 is the largest and most complex work in the exhibition and was produced using a pair of two metre by one metre copper plates, the largest that can be accommodated on the printing press. One of the biggest etchings ever made, it is a tour-de-force of printmaking. The Colorplan Series, 2011 is a set of four smaller colour etchings, each an orchestration of 27 different combinations of fluid lines of colour which pool to form puddles at the bottom of the compositions and each printed onto a delicate layer of coloured chinese paper. Experimentation and improvisation is a vital part of the creative process for Davenport and the final part of the exhibition consists of a group of unique monoprint etchings - each one a further and more daring exploration of colour and line.

Alan Cristea Gallery | Ian Davenport | Prismatic |