The
Stanford University Libraries, Department of Special Collections,
presented the exhibit, Matt Phillips: The Magic In His Prints.
This exhibit celebrated the Libraries' recent acquisition of
works by painter and printmaker Matt Phillips, widely recognized
as a master of the monotype. With an emphasis on describing
the artist's creative process, the exhibit will feature monotypes,
drypoints, etchings, and lithographs, as well as artists' books
and sketchbooks dating from the 1950s through the present. Matt
Phillips: The Magic in His Prints was on view at Stanford
University's Cecil H. Green Library, Peterson Gallery, second
floor of the Bing Wing. The opening reception took place on
August 5 and the exhibit ran through October 28, 2001.
The
Department of Special Collections at the Stanford University
Libraries acquired the Phillips collection in 1999. In addition
to prints and sketchbooks, the collection includes items such
as maquettes of artists' books, instructional drawings, photographs
documenting his work in the studio, and printmaking plates.
Phillips's finished works, considered in tandem with these other
objects, will provide insight to students of studio art, printmakers,
and anyone else interested in pondering the creative process
of a visual artist.
Phillips
is widely recognized as a master of the monotype. In its simplest
terms, a monotype is an impression of a painting. A painting
is done on a surface such as metal or plastic, and various effects
can be achieved by wiping away parts of the paint with a cloth,
leaving areas of whiteness for contrast or shading. A sheet
of paper is then placed upon the painted and surface and pressure
is applied by hand or via a printing press. Phillips uses the
monotype to various effects. His depiction of beach scenes,
with broad swaths of white evoke the blinding light of the shoreline;
the swirling, breathy, and mottled textures in his depiction
of a bouquet of flowers capture their fragility. Through teaching,
writing, curating, and an unwavering devotion to the monotype
as his primary medium, Phillips has played a critical role in
spreading knowledge about the monotype as a graphic art form.
The
exhibit also featured a series of drypoint prints, touching
upon the artists' favorite subjects. The subjects that Phillips
returns to, time and again, are scenes from his worldly travels-the
bustle of open air markets in such places as Guatemala, Israel,
and Morocco, and the rolling hills of Napa Valley and Montana.
The artist also devotes entire print suites to the natural world-flowers,
gardens, and virgin landscapes, sometimes with a sensuous presentation
of the human figure in nature.
The
parallels between printmaking and performing magical acts were
also explored in the exhibit. Phillips the printmaker is also
a magician. Magicians and printmakers must frequently work quickly,
exercising a skillful sleight-of-hand. Magic teaches one to
envision objects upsidedown and in reverse, and the image that
is transferred to paper in printmaking is often the reversal
of that on the printmaking plate. The boldness, flashiness,
elements of chance, and spontaneity found in magic can also
be found in printmaking-points also emphasized in the exhibit.
In
conjunction with the exhibition, the Stanford University Libraries
published the catalogue Matt Phillips: The Magic In His Prints.
The catalogue highlights the Libraries' collection of monotypes,
drypoints, etchings, and lithographs, as well as artists' books
and sketchbooks by Phillips dating from the 1950s through the
present. Designed by fine press printer and typographer Peter
Koch. With 8 color and 8 black-and-white illustrations, a preface
by Roberto Trujillo, co-curator and Head, Special Collections,
and an essay by D. Vanessa Kam. The price is $15 per copy plus
tax and shipping. To order please visit the Special Collections
publications web site or
contact Lisa Marie Hall at 650-725-1021;e-mail: speccollpubs@stanford.edu
Image
top right: Flowers: Monotypes of Matt Phillips, 1991,
courtesy Matt Phillips.
