James Jamie Nares | Going For Baroque 1 - 5

Jamie Nares and Durham Press are pleased to announce the completion of five new screenprints, titled Going For Baroque 1 - 5, which celebrate the powerful yet ephemeral brushstroke mark seen throughout Nares’ work since the 1980s. The suite of five prints, which measure 60 x 24 inches each, are editions of forty-four printed on Saunders Waterford 425gsm paper and combine nine screenprint impressions in six to seven colors.

Nares has continued to develop her iconic brushstroke imagery with Durham Press since the early 2000s, beginning with her 2002 edition Three Aces. This new edition, however, pushes that exploration further – previous works feature one color for each brushstroke, building depth and richness in each mark by layering up to fifteen different shades of a single color. Going For Baroque builds on this technique by introducing a transitional color: a gradation of blue is interrupted by a gradation of magenta, or a yellow suddenly shifts to jade. This merging of two disparate colors is not something that can be achieved by painting a singular brushstroke, adding to the original painting instead of replicating. Going For Baroque creates a contemporary feel, adding a uniqueness that catches the eye as its colors merge into a single vivid stroke.

Going For Baroque features two separate brushstrokes in distinct colors, each painted by Nares while at Durham Press in the summer of 2020. Nares uses large, handmade brushes to produce each stroke – the twists and turns of her wrist as she paints the original brushstroke captured by the thick oil and encaustic paint. The solitary brushstroke left behind becomes a record of the rhythm of her body in action, of time, of motion.