Charline von Heyl has created Medusa, 2023 especially for Whitechapel Gallery to accompany Christen Sveaas Art Foundation: The Travel Bureau, Selected by Paulina Olowska, 14 January – 8 May 2022.
Medusa, 2023 takes its starting point from a series of recent drawings by the artist, which are made using an image-archive of black paper shapes. These shapes often resemble snakes - a recurring motif in von Heyl’s paintings, which she describes as like a baroque hand movement, curl or gesture. Other shapes are abstract; negative space found through offcuts or punched-out holes. Von Heyl layers and combines these cut outs, until an image suggests itself, intentionally sidestepping the notion of a finished work. Von Heyl then outlines the image in pencil, and fills in solid areas with black, before removing the paper elements.
Von Heyl selected one of these drawings from a series of around 50 works, for her Whitechapel Gallery edition, translating it through a combination of intaglio and relief printing. Printmaking is an important part of the artist’s practice, which she describes as similar in thought process to her painting.
Charline von Heyl - Medusa - 2023
Medium: Intaglio with relief on En Tout Cas paper
Size: 62.6 x 50.5 cm
Edition of 30
Signed and numbered
Price: £ 1,500
This limited edition Charline von Heyl intaglio is available at Whitechapel Gallery.