Lion Cage (Löwenkäfig)

Printmaking was an essential part of Dieter Roth’s oeuvre. Although he frequently used conventional processes, he dramatically altered these methods to create new possibilities for the medium. His innovations, when combined with his experimentation with unorthodox materials, cemented his reputation as an artists’ artist who advanced printmaking to new levels. Perhaps best known for the "pressings" in which he incorporated foods such as cheese, chocolate, and sausage, the Lion Cage suite shows Roth’s mastery of the more traditional technique of etching. Within the rust-toned gridded pattern, Roth created the illusion of three-dimensionality by making a quatrefoil form that appears to open and reveal the image of the Lion Monument from Lucerne, Switzerland. The lion is a reoccurring motif in Roth’s work, often functioning as a symbol for the artist or his partner, the artist Dorothy Iannone. He signed the prints "Dieter Rot" to evoke the celebrated writer and philosopher Denis Diderot, while also making a sly reference to his own poetry and slippages between various forms of language. Lion Cage was printed by Karl Schulz, a master printer based in Braunschweig, German, with whom Roth created a print studio in 1970. There, Roth experimented with new materials and techniques in combination with more established methods to produce important editions such as the Lion Cage suite.