This print presents two figures in a confrontation of scale and mood that is characteristic of Neo-Expressionist figuration. At the left, a large, fractured head looms in the foreground, its features rendered in bold, slashing strokes of black and broken passages of grey and white, so that the face appears both monumental and unstable. Beside it, a smaller, frontal figure with wide, dark-rimmed eyes stands in a mottled, patterned garment, gazing out at the viewer with a stillness that contrasts sharply with the turbulence of the first. Behind them, heavy black bars and a framed rectangular window or picture, with a hint of a building or vehicle, divide the flat grey ground into tilted, unsettled planes. The expressive handling of the ink, with its rich blacks, gestural marks and tonal washes, lends the image a raw, psychological intensity, and the stark economy of means gives the pairing an air of unease, as if the viewer has intruded on a charged and wordless exchange.
Details
From 4th Meridian Art and Auctions description: "This print is unusual in that it is produced using a hybrid technique combining planographic lithography with manual hand rendered Chinese Ink wash. The small edition of seven copies and the manual work required to apply the Chinese Ink probably indicates that it was not originally intended for sale, but was done as an experiment. The date is consistent with the late 20th Century revival of Neo Expressionism. The raw, heavily outlined figures evoke the work of George Rouault and Ernst Kirchner.
Condition
Very good
Artist
Artist Name
L.M. Rhine
Signature/Inscriptions
Signed: "LMRhine '84", in graphite, on lower right front
Inscribed: Litho/Chinese ink, in graphite on lower left front.
