Silkscreen

SPAM takes flight in a print by Ed Ruscha.Ed Ruscha painted Actual Size in 1962 at a similar time to sonic, one word paintings like Oof, Smash and Honk. In its use of a household brand, Actual Size also draws connections with everyday consumerism and with Ruscha's larger scale appropriations, like the Hollywood sign.The painting brings to life “SPAM in a can” – a phrase coined by journalists to describe astronauts sent to space in self-piloting rockets. Its title is lifted from the world of advertising, circling the true-to-life dimensions of its flying subject. These layers speak to Ruscha’s flair for dual meanings and deadpan humour. Actual Size plays an important part in the history of both Pop Art and Conceptual Art, propelling it to become one of Ruscha’s most iconic paintings. To coincide with a retrospective at LACMA, it has been transformed into a limited edition print. Proceeds will support the museum’s future.

George Condo warps time and identity in a melodramatic portrait.Lost in Time channels the decadent stylings of Dutch masters through a perverse contemporary lens. Sat alone in the dark, Condo spotlights his unmistakably American subject – gaudy shirt, cigarette smoke wafting – with traditional chiaroscuro techniques. Looking back over his shoulder, the figure’s angular, cartoonish appearance carries a disarmingly human demeanour.“The cartoon is a very bizarre weapon against the intellectual concept of what supposedly high art culture is all about.”One of three limited edition prints launched in support of Dia Art Foundation, Condo’s painting has been meticulously translated into a 22 colour silkscreen in close collaboration with artisan printmakers at Make-Ready in London.

George Condo re-configures emotion with a portrait spanning multiple planes.Emblematic of Condo’s unique take on Cubism and figurative painting, Prismatic Head Composition establishes a paradoxical bond between the beautiful and unsightly. Visibly disconcerted, his figure grapples with familiar and alien feelings – all at once. Eyes sit lopsided on a contorted face above multiple sets of teeth, posing the question of how many personalities are at play within a singular subject.“My work finds a way to represent the human consciousness through portrait. That portrait could represent what’s not only the exterior appearance of that person but what’s going through their mind.”One of three limited edition prints launched in support of Dia Art Foundation, Condo’s painting has been meticulously translated into a 21 colour silkscreen in close collaboration with artisan printmakers at Make-Ready in London.

George Condo offers an unsettling glimpse into the realities of the human psyche.Absurd yet familiar, Portrait And Head portrays intangible emotional states. Condo stylistically reconfigures techniques from 20th Century masters including Picasso and de Kooning, describing his sampling as ‘Psychological Cubism’. The portrait obscures human features amongst geometric gestures, cementing a multidimensional perspective on human emotion.“Picasso painted a violin from four different perspectives at one time. I do the same with psychological states. Four of them can occur simultaneously. Like glimpsing a bus with one passenger howling over a joke they’re hearing down the phone, someone else asleep, someone else crying.”One of three limited edition prints launched in support of Dia Art Foundation, Condo’s painting has been meticulously translated into a 33 colour silkscreen in close collaboration with artisan printmakers at Make-Ready in London.

An enchanting vision of Manhattan at dusk from the world of Laura El.Illustrations by Laura El draw inspiration from the familiar streets of New York City. If they feel lifted from a storybook, they might be. El is also an author.Park Ave bathes a brownstone streetscape in the warm glow of sunset. Leaves tumble gently as a figure strolls past with their dog. Drawn in 20,000 strokes across 200 layers, El’s digital illustration has been transformed carefully into a limited edition print with phosphorescent details and glossy varnish highlights.“It’s an outwardly peaceful morning walk, but there's an undeniable New York City rush hidden within it. The windows, reflecting light during the day and glowing in the darkness, add a dynamic quality that I've never found in any of my physical artworks before.”

Soft pink silkscreen prints signal new possibilities in the world of LUV.Earlier this year at her Living with LUV show in London, LY debuted a single artwork unlike anything she had painted before. In a room full of greyscale, warm pink hues brought new life to her amorphous wandering muse.The change was inspired in part by the artist’s daughter, and the colourful perspective she has introduced to family life in Tokyo. “Since becoming a mother, everyday is a surprise and a new discovery.”Printmakers identified and replicated each carefully-chosen shade to create a 21 colour silkscreen, printed in 42 layers at Make-Ready in London.

Christian Rex van Minnen probes the thresholds of reality with his second time-limited print.Rainbow Bridge is based on the artist’s new series of trompe l’œil portal paintings, first exhibited in his solo exhibition La Luz Atrapada at Veta Galeria in November 2023. The catalyst? A question posed by his son – “Dad, why don’t you paint something beautiful today?” While the series marks a new direction for van Minnen's practice, the amalgamation of influences contained in his hyperreal marble niches and bubbling still life bouquets are consistent. Before painting the series he studied the compositions of Dutch Master Ambrosius Bosschaert, breaking them down to create his own formula.The title refers to a theory describing the connection between our inner selves and different levels of consciousness. Van Minnen's interpretation consists of 3 essential elements: an open-stone niche, the sky and a still life arrangement – symbolising the self, the heavens and phenomena of the eye.The edition will be printed at Make-Ready in London after the 24 hour launch window ends and edition size is confirmed. Each will be finished with a matte silkscreen seal, while spot highlights in gloss varnish bring the gummies to life.

Hand-finished, 28-layer silkscreens from a Bay Area legend.Our first collaboration with Barry McGee is a greatest hits style montage of his life in San Francisco. From disgruntled looking Everyman heads – an allegory for the city’s ‘invisible’ homeless population – to acronyms for the graffiti crews he tags with, the untitled print rewards those familiar with the artist's expansive and experimental practice. Abstract geometries fill the gaps, providing “areas to rest the eye” and loading the print with McGee's distinct aesthetic code.Once printed, McGee will add unique details to each print with spray paint and gouache. Illustrative additions introduce familiar faces from his esoteric library of references and symbols, while unplanned dots and lines in grey nod to the graffiti he still sprays today. Testing the process at Brothers Marshall in Malibu, faces, animals and acronyms were added to the right hand side of the print. For the edition itself, expect more of the same and (knowing Barry) a few surprises too. “I will be interacting with each print in a different way. I try to keep that element of unpredictability when composing work.”The underlying artworks – 14 colour silkscreens printed in 28 sharp-edged layers – have been created in close collaboration with expert printmakers at Make-Ready in London.

In a series of hand-finished prints, Hideaki Kawashima reflects on becoming who you once looked up to.The Japanese term ‘ojisan’ – used by younger generations in reference to characteristically stubborn middle aged men – is equal parts affectionate, mocking and deferential. With Fan, Kawashima returns to his adolescent view of such figures, staging relationships between a youthful sitter and portraits looking on from behind. “When I was younger, I often couldn’t understand what Ojisan were saying, but now that I have become an Ojisan myself, It seems reasonable that I did not understand them. This series is a tribute to my predecessors, who guided me in this way.”The framed portraits are individually painted by the artist in gouache, making every print unique. Most feature archetypal Ojisan, while some reprise the artwork’s subject – shifting the notion of being a ‘fan’ to one of self love. The nondescript book she is engrossed by absorbs this subtext – a novel filled with wisdom from the past, or a diary penned moments ago? Because of the time consuming nature of the hand-finishing process, only ten prints will be ready to dispatch at launch on Wednesday 15 November. The remaining ten will be completed in early 2024.
Fan (Hand-finished) is accompanied by an edition of 30 prints featuring a portrait of renowned Japanese writer Yukio Mishima.

Hideaki Kawashima considers the nuances of one way admiration. The title of our second collaboration with Hideaki Kawashima references the relationship between its subject and a portrait hanging behind her on a sunshine yellow wall. Engrossed in a book, her feelings are not overt. Instead, Kawashima considers the way role models guide our lives from afar, and our penchant for making subtle shrines to them within our domestic spaces. For the edition, Kawashima chose a portrait of Yukio Mishima – a renowned Japanese writer who he credits with awakening him to the joys of literature.
Fan (Mishima) launches alongside an edition of 20 hand-finished prints. In each print, Kawashima introduces a different figure to the frame.

Michaela Yearwood-Dan makes swathes of tropical colour dance.Just translates the artist’s large-scale original oil paintings into an edition of 14-layer silkscreen prints. Taking inspiration from nature and her Caribbean heritage, the print interlaces flora and fauna with the words: "Just let me hold you and let's bask in the magic”. The artist’s vibrant assemblages signal to both a personal and collective narrative, prompting viewers to sit and spend time engaging with her work.The edition launches in collaboration with London-based charity QUEERCIRCLE, a hub for LGBTQ+ arts and culture in London which the artist has supported since their opening in 2021.

A mythical beast steps out from the maelstrom. Miwa Komatsu’s paintings are guided by a deeply personal spiritual outlook. Yamainu-san is a wolf-like divine being, encountered by Komatsu as a child and now found – wide eyed and cosmic – throughout her dazzling artworks. In The Entity Stirs, Yamainu-san emerges from an ocean of lace-like white marks surrounded by mountains and fire. Based on an original painting, the edition layers a flatbed print with three silkscreen layers including fluorescent ink and flashes of gold. The dazzling eyes at the artwork’s centre are of particular significance. Komatsu explains that – in a series of epiphanies – the intense stares she is confronted by in otherworldly encounters have broadened her own vision, and helped her to paint.Each print is accompanied by a copy of The Great Harmonisation – an illustrated poem conceived as an introduction to the conceptual framework of Komatsu’s practice.

Dmitri Cherniak reconfigures his pioneering series with a silkscreen print that nods to the algorithmic parameters of Generative art.Originally released in 2021, the Ringers series illustrates the almost infinite ways a string could be wrapped around a set of pegs, created by an algorithm that allows a limitless variety of combinations of this concept. Derived from a unique Javascript transaction hash, each output contains feature variations including peg count, size, layout, wrap orientation and colourful flourishes.Realised as a physical print edition, this new incarnation of Ringers is a 9-piece parameter sweep laid out in a 3x3 grid. The number of pegs sampled are changed between 10% and 100%, with the signature yellow peg remaining consistent in each composition. Ringer #962, donated to Los Angeles County Museum of Art, appears in the centre. To support the future of LACMA, proceeds from Cherniak's first Avant Arte edition will be donated to the museum, alongside the original work.The artist’s three signature colours are boldly realised in seven layers of silkscreen, each enhanced by embossment. Each print is paired with an NFT of the same artwork. Claiming instructions will be shared with collectors after launch.The exact edition size will be determined by the number of prints ordered in the 24 hour release window. When this window ends, artworks will be printed and shipped worldwide free of charge.

CryptoPunks assemble en-masse for a time-limited print.From cult status and covetable characteristics to bidding wars and celebrity acquisitions, every Punk has its own story. Together, they represent a paradigm shift in the history of digital art.All 10,000 Punks, assembled in a perfect square, make up the edition – finished with a silkscreen varnish seal and accompanied by a hot pink certificate of authenticity.Own a Punk? Punk On-Chain offers the chance to transform it into a 1-of-1, multi-layered print.