THE ART OF PRINTMAKING

Maddox Gallery is delighted to present The Art of Printmaking, a dynamic exhibition showcasing the different print techniques used by leading artists from the 20th and 21st centuries. Running from mid-June to mid-July, the exhibition maps the medium’s era-defining moments, including Andy Warhol’s famed silk-screen prints, Russell Young’s large-scale diamond-dusted prints, David Yarrow’s photographic archival pigment prints and Banksy’s world-renowned screen prints. 

Printmaking was pioneered by Andy Warhol, who popularised it as a medium for creating art in the 1960s. Screen printing quickly became a key element in the practice of many creatives during the 20th century, enabling artists to replicate a single image multiple times and experiment with innovative new ways of transferring images. Decades later, Banksy began printmaking because it allowed him to create his art quicker, making it more accessible to the public.

As the art market has evolved, the prints and multiples sector has grown exponentially, driven by its stability and availability. Original prints that would otherwise be out of reach by established names, living and dead, open the door to budding collectors who are eager to get on the art market ladder. Moreover, prints and works on paper translate well on-screen, with their two-dimensionality lending itself well to art’s ever-more-online presence.

From Pop to Street Art, the history of printmaking is not only a timeline of an artist’s work, but also a record of technological change and innovation within the art world. Printmaking allowed, and continues to allow artists to push themselves further, putting their stamp on art history with their ever-changing and evolving bodies of work.