Print of The Month: June 2020
Paul Coldwell, Points of Reference I
Date: 2011
Size (cm - unframed): 62 x 76
Technique: Screenprint
Materials: Somerset Velvet 300gsm
Edition size: 20
In our current life, we are perhaps at odds with where our future lies. There is no guide we can trust to give us real direction. In these prints made in 2011, Points of Reference I, II & II, Paul Coldwell plots the positions of a societal landscape: Artefacts are laid out for us to connect the dots and follow wavering lines which resemble the contour lines of a map. These forms sit on top of a distinctive halftone background that again gives the impression of a sort of mountainous terrain. Coldwell is well known for his interest in the fusion of digital and analogue images and these prints explore these frontiers.
Often making work in association with museums, the artist makes clear connections to stories of social history and noticing the material items that make up our existence. At this moment in time we are perhaps slowing down and looking in more detail and seeing things in a different light. Through a process of observation, seemingly everyday and mundane objects - here including a wristwatch, a key and glasses - gain a sense of poignancy and charm.
Limited edition prints of each of the series are available through the studio for £500 unframed. The complete set of three is available for £1200.
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Paul Coldwell’s diverse artistic practice includes printmaking, sculpture, book-making, and installation. His work explores themes of absence and presence, often taking a museum and its collection as a starting point for research and enquiry. Coldwell combines digital technologies with traditional processes to produce his layered, visually complex images which reference the traditional half tone of photomechanical processes.
In addition to Coldwell’s studio practice, he is an academic and a curator, having held the title of Professor of Fine Art at the University of the Arts, London, since 2001. He is on the editorial board for the journal Print Quarterly and was a regular contributor to Art in Print, writing for both on contemporary printmaking. He has exhibited widely in the UK and beyond, and his work is held in numerous public collections including Tate, Victoria and Albert Museum, the British Museum and MOMA New York, USA. He lives and works in London.