Frederick Mershimer
Crossings
1998

Name: Crossings
Brand: Frederick Mershimer
Price: 2950 USD
Availability: InStock

About the Item

CROSSINGS Contemporary artist Frederick Mershimer created the mezzotint engraving entitled "Crossings" in 1998. This impression is signed, titled, and dated in pencil. The printed image size is 23 5/8 x 35 5/8 inches (60 x 90.3 cm) and the paper size is 29.75 x 41inches. Edition 90 + 10 AP. “Mezzotint engraving is a relatively obscure form of printmaking that creates dramatic chiaroscuro, with white highlights emerging out of rich velvety dark tones. Italian for “half-tone,” mezzotint was a 17th-century improvement on engraving’s tonal cross-hatched lines, because it can produce an even gradation of tones. Known as the black manner, its unique process entails working from black to white. An initial “roughing up” of the copper plate with a rocker tool forms a textured field of copper burrs, which prints as flat black. Lighter, grey passages and white highlights are created by slowly erasing the texture. “ – Mershimer Frederick Mershimer was born in Sharon, Pennsylvania. He received a BFA in painting from Carnegie Mellon University in 1980. In 1982 Mershimer moved to New York City and continued his studies at the Parsons School of Design, Pratt Graphic Center, and Manhattan Graphic Center. Mershimer celebrates the experience of New York through his art. He creates an evocative realism that transports the viewer beyond first appearances to reveal the hidden beauty of the contemporary city. Before moving to New York, Mershimer was exclusively a figurative artist; but his attention was quickly diverted by the power and energy of the city around him. At first glance, his work can be interpreted as bold naturalism. Yet, he skillfully choreographs lighting and detail while altering perspective to draw the viewer's attention to the essence of the piece. His mezzotints speak to both the grit and grandeur of the modern American city. To translate his visions, he has chosen mezzotint- a tonal medium capable of achieving rich blacks and subtle gradations of grays. This painstaking technique requires the artist to spend long hours preparing the “texture ground” on the copper plate before the detail work of the actual image can begin. This preparatory work is done using a curved serrated blade called a rocker. Frederick Mershimer has work is in many collections including The Corcoran Gallery, Washington, DC; Cleveland Museum of Art, OH; Museum of the City of New York, NY; National Museum of American Art/Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC; New Orleans Museum of Art, LA; Queens Museum of Art, NY; and the Whitney Museum of American Art, NY. His works have also been acquired by the Georgetown University Art Collection, Harvard's Fogg Museum, Library of Congress, New York Public Library, University of Arizona, and the University of New Mexico.

Creator:

Frederick Mershimer (1958, American)

Creation Year:

1998

Dimensions:

Height: 30 in (76.2 cm)Width: 41 in (104.14 cm)Depth: 0.94 in (2.39 cm)

Medium:

Mezzotint

Movement & Style:

American Realist

Period:

Late 20th Century