VERNISSAGE-COCKTAIL

© The Estate of R.B. Kitaj

VERNISSAGE-COCKTAIL 1967

R B Kitaj (1932 – 2007)

Details

Dimension
104 X 71.2 CM
Media
SCREENPRINT
Accession number
P4429

Summary

Unlike Kitaj’s earlier prints, this work is more extemporised and was not based on a pre-existing collage. The element of spontaneity was at odds with Kitaj’s painstaking and thoughtful working practice, and led to his eventual disillusionment with screenprinting.

The photograph was taken from the magazine Life(15 January 1951) and showed a group of the New York School artists, notably de Kooning, Gottlieb, Reinhardt, Pollock, Newman and Rothko.

Further reading:

Jane Kinsman, The Prints of R B Kitaj, Scolar Press, Aldershot,1994

Glossary

  • Collage

    The two-dimensional form of assemblage made by affixing paper, card, photographs, fabric and other objects to a flat surface. It is often combined with painting and drawing techniques. This technique was first introduced by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in 1912 during their phase of synthetic cubism.

  • Photograph

    A permanent image taken by means of the chemical action of light on light-sensitive surfaces.