SAM MESSER
Olympia I, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia II, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia V, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia VI, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia VIII, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia IX, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XI, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XII, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XVI, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XVII, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XVIII, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XX, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
Olympia XXII, 2020. Unique variant print withWoodcut, lithograph, monotype, collage, and hand-coloring. 35 x 24 in. (bleed). Variable edition of 22
OLYMPIA SERIES, 2020
Sam Messer began his collaboration with Jungle Press in 2020. Working on two projects–one in lithography/woodcut and one in etching–he was able to explore abroad spectrum of processes showcasing his interest in experimentation and variation. Messer has long had friendships with writers, and has collaborated on several projects combining text, drawing, animation, and film. The continued storytelling presents itself here in the “Olympia Series” and“In the Year 2020.”
Starting with lithography and woodcut, in the “Olympia Series,” the artist drew on a large plate the image of a typewriter, one of his signature motifs. Here the writer’s tool is an anthropomorphic stand-in for the writer. With his comic renderings of the“smiling”keyboard and the“paper fingers” as eyes, the artist lures us in to experience the complete picture. Disembodied letters float above, free from the page, evoking the elusive thought process of the writer: what to write next. The woodcut elements provide a graphic punch, with the open woodgrain standing up on the paper.
The myriad combinations of color from print to print in this series demonstrate the experimental quality of the artist’s style. In addition to the printed colors, hand coloring and collage come in to play here. Cutting out and re-pasting the letters, and paper shapes, adding watercolor washes, charcoal, repurposing previous etchings as collage–all come in to play in the finished works.
– Andrew Mockler
In the Year 2020 II, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 III, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 IV, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 V, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 VI, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 VII, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 VIII, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 IX, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
In the Year 2020 XVII, 2020. Etching with monoprint, hand coloring, and collage on Hahnemuhle. Paper Size: 22 x 29 in. Image Size: 15.5 x 20 in. Variable edition of 17
IN THE YEAR 2020
Working with the motif of the typewriter, “In the Year 2020,” the artist features the elemental quality of the copper etching plate itself. Having scratched through the ground to expose the copper, the artist then left the plate in the acid for many hours. The resulting plate is eaten away so much so that large holes and voids appear throughout. The plate is printed “as is” with all the blemishes and voids.To resulting prints pulled from this plate evoke a weathered and fraught condition. To these prints the artist has added watercolor and collage elements, as well enamel on some, creating a group of truly unique prints
B. 1955, NEW YORK, NY
Sam Messer received a BFA from Cooper Union (1976) and an MFA from Yale University (1982). He is represented by Nielsen Gallery, Boston, and Shoshana Wayne Gallery, Los Angeles. His work may be found in public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Art Institute of Chicago, and Yale University Art Gallery.
Messer has received awards including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant (1984), Engelhard Award (1985), Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant (1993), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1996). He has collaborated with Paul Auster on The Story of My Typewriter, and with Denis Johnson on Cloud of Chalk. He was appointed senior critic at Yale in 1994 and in 2005 was appointed associate dean and professor (adjunct). He also serves as director of the art division of the Yale SummerSchool of Music and Art in Norfolk.