• EMIL LUKAS | DOUBLE EVENT MONOPRINTS Emil Lukas and Durham Press have completed their most recent collaboration titled Double Event,...

    Emil Lukas | Preparing plate for Double Event (Bubble)

     

    EMIL LUKAS | DOUBLE EVENT MONOPRINTS

     

    Emil Lukas and Durham Press have completed their most recent collaboration titled Double Event, a series of monotypes and monoprints inspired by the multitude of processes used in Lukas' practice. The prints were produced in a multitude of colorways and sizes, ranging from 10 by 12 inches to 32 by 48 inches.

     

    Known for his process-oriented works that investigate visual perception and reimagine the everyday, industrial, or otherwise unconventional materials, Lukas has translated these methods into the medium of print. Double Event (Bubble), a series of relief monotypes, is Lukas’ most recent iteration on a commonly explored theme for him: bubble-wrap. Lukas has long been drawn to the image-making potential of the bubble-wrap pattern. In his painting practice, he utilizes this ubiquitous packing and shipping product by casting it in plaster and applying acrylic paint to the resulting concave impressions ­– each of which is slightly different than the one beside it, revealing the differences made by the creases left behind from the plastic or the manufacturer’s imperfections in an otherwise uniform matrix. Presented on handmade, triple-thick paper, the bubble-wrap shapes in Double Event (Bubble) are significantly debossed to bring new attention to the dimensionality of the circular marks, imbuing the prints with an almost sculptural quality akin to the plaster surfaces of his paintings.

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    Double Event (Thread) monoprints within this series mimic the Thread Paintings that play a large role in his practice in which he builds by wrapping thread around a frame, allowing layers of different colors to cross over each other and diffuse into an almost glowing composition. In Double Event (Thread), these wrapped threads are not the final artwork but were instead used to expose a silkscreen. Lukas builds these prints layer by layer like in his painting process, creating a complex composition as their colors overlap and interact. Though all five series within Double Event – Thread, Bubble, Puddle, Larva, and Glass – differ in image, each are linked by their relationship with the process that created them. These transformations, carried out with everyday materials and simple means, demonstrate the myriad of ways a single image can be perceived. In Lukas' words, Double Event suggests that "the possibility that the infinity of color cannot be exhausted."

     

    Double Event, as well as previous monoprints or editions by Emil Lukas, are available directly through Durham Press and can be seen on Lukas' artist's page. For more information, please contact us at sales@durhampress.com.