Farbprobe / colour proof (Ausschnitt / Detail), undatiert / undated
unbekanntes Motiv / unknown motif
Farbholzschnitt auf Kumohadamashi-Japanpapier von Heizaburo Iwano
Colour woodcut on Kumohadamashi Japanese paper made by Heizaburo Iwan
19 x 18.5 cm
Besitz des Künstlers
Collection of the artist
© Franz Gertsch
Franz Gertsch
Colour Proofs
28.01.2023 – 18.06.2023
The artist Franz Gertsch has opened his archive: Since the 1980s, his ongoing production of woodcuts has yielded numerous colour proofs prompting him to show a selection of these works in the Cabinet of the Museum Franz Gertsch.
Unlike state proofs or trial proofs produced during the cutting process, the artist created these colour proofs only in his printing studio in Bern: Gertsch used a tone or sample plate to print an initially small amount of mixed paint onto a small piece of Kumohadamashi Japan paper, his material of choice. The aim was to proof the colour nuance and its quality before producing a larger quantity and printing the woodcut onto a big sheet of paper. Different plates (sometimes the process involved also a section of a work) result in different colour proofs with or without markings. On the printing day, Franz Gertsch mixed his colours from pure pigment powders and a transparent oil binder (transparent white oil-based varnish) and then followed his mental image to create the desired shade.
The exhibition showcases a variety of colour proofs and provides insights into Franz Gertsch’s studio, his handling of colours, and the details in the printing process of his expansive, unique woodcuts. The artist’s collection of colour proofs fills several cassettes. Besides their technical purpose, these samples also invite aesthetic and philosophical reflection: They represent the experiments and artistic considerations of past printing days and manifest a whole range of possibilities between visibility and invisibility, and abstraction and figuration on a small scale.
The exhibition was curated by Anna Wesle in collaboration with the artist.
Unlike state proofs or trial proofs produced during the cutting process, the artist created these colour proofs only in his printing studio in Bern: Gertsch used a tone or sample plate to print an initially small amount of mixed paint onto a small piece of Kumohadamashi Japan paper, his material of choice. The aim was to proof the colour nuance and its quality before producing a larger quantity and printing the woodcut onto a big sheet of paper. Different plates (sometimes the process involved also a section of a work) result in different colour proofs with or without markings. On the printing day, Franz Gertsch mixed his colours from pure pigment powders and a transparent oil binder (transparent white oil-based varnish) and then followed his mental image to create the desired shade.
The exhibition showcases a variety of colour proofs and provides insights into Franz Gertsch’s studio, his handling of colours, and the details in the printing process of his expansive, unique woodcuts. The artist’s collection of colour proofs fills several cassettes. Besides their technical purpose, these samples also invite aesthetic and philosophical reflection: They represent the experiments and artistic considerations of past printing days and manifest a whole range of possibilities between visibility and invisibility, and abstraction and figuration on a small scale.
The exhibition was curated by Anna Wesle in collaboration with the artist.
Werke / Works
