Distant Systems

Lesley Schiff American
Printer Lesley Schiff American
Publisher Lesley Schiff American
2016
Not on view
With their distinct palette, overlapping spherical forms, and shifting tones and effects, the compositions of Schiff’s prints reference a range of sources, including telescopic views of planets, moons, and other celestial bodies; imagery from science fiction; and abstract compositions by artists such as Wassily Kandinsky. The formal qualities of Distant Systems—an ongoing series about the cosmos—also recall a range of printmaking techniques, including woodcut, screenprint, and lithography, as well as photography and painting. Rather than work in these traditions, however, for more than four decades Schiff has used a state-of-the-art color laser printer to create permanent pigment prints. In a process she describes as employing the machine "like a paintbrush," she achieves blurred edges, flashes of light, unexpected color combinations, and a variety of textures not produced by other printmaking methods.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Distant Systems
  • Artist: Lesley Schiff (American)
  • Printer: Lesley Schiff (American)
  • Publisher: Lesley Schiff (American)
  • Date: 2016
  • Medium: Inkjet print
  • Dimensions: Sheet: 16 × 24 in. (40.6 × 61 cm)
  • Classification: Prints
  • Credit Line: Gift of the artist, 2016
  • Object Number: 2016.382.1
  • Curatorial Department: Drawings and Prints

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