Mark Strand: Collages

Lori Bookstein Fine Art is pleased to announce an exhibition of recent collages by Mark Strand. This is the artist's first solo-show with the gallery.

This exhibition will consist of 15 collages made in Madrid and New York between 2011 and 2013. Strand creates his collages using hand-made and hand-colored papers that he creates at Dieu Donné with the help of master papermaker Sue Gosin.  At the papermaker, he uses a unique blend of paper pulp consisting of linen rag pulp and Abaca pulp, which is derived from a plant fiber commonly found in the Philippines. The resulting pulp is then mixed with various pigments to produce a set of colored paper pulps he then uses to create his papers. Working while the paper is still wet, Strand paints with the colored pulp using his hands, paint brushes and squirt bottles. The resulting paper is both rich in color and dynamism, showing evidence of the means and vitality with which Strand created his medium. Once dried, the artist tactfully tears and cuts the paper to create collages, which he then arranges and mounts to mat board.

Although the collages maintain an intimate scale, they certainly demand the viewer's attention. Colors and forms radiate in dynamic patterns that, at once, seem both spontaneous and purposeful. The resulting collages look remarkably painterly despite the lack of the medium. Indeed, Varying degrees of paper transparency and an array of deckled edges combine to form unique compositions with remarkable depth and character.

Mark Strand (b. 1934, Summerside, Prince Edward Island, Canada) studied with Josef Albers and Bernard Chaet at Yale University's School of Architecture and Design in the late 1950s. Strand's early work has been included in both Albers's renowned The Interaction of Color and Chaet's The Art of Drawing. In addition to his extensive collection of poetry, essays and criticism, Strand has continued through out his life to make art including painting, collages and prints. Mark Strand splits his time between New York and Madrid.

Mark Strand: Collages will be on view from September 5 - October 5, 2013. An opening reception will be held on Thursday, September 5th from 6-8 pm. A full-color catalogue of the exhibition with an essay by Francine Prose is available. A book of Strand's collages is to be published by Vif Éditions, Paris later this year. Gallery hours are Tuesday through Saturday, 10:30 am to 6:00 pm. For additional information and/or visual materials, please contact the gallery at (212) 750-0949 or by email at info@loribooksteinfineart.com.