Galleries are presenting limited-edition prints at the fair that take reproduction to a whole new level of complexity. What looks like a mud painting by the British artist Richard Long at Alan Cristea (A12) is, in fact, a carborundum print, a technique invented by Henri Goetz and pioneered by the Spanish artist Joan Miró, says the gallery’s director David Cleaton-Roberts. The combination of silicon carbide powder and PVA glue creates a paste that Long has worked with his hands onto the aluminium printing plate. The paste hardens to form a hard relief that is then inked to produce the singular effect of African Dub (2014), which is on sale for $29,750 in an edition of five. Here’s our pick of other unusual prints at the fair.
Chris Ofili
Black Shunga (2008-15)
Two Palms (A7)
The Trinidad-based British artist Chris Ofili’s multi-layered prints—black aquatint followed by iridescent pigment, a black wash and finally the hard ground etching in grey ink—slowly reveal their erotic content as your eyes become accustomed to the low light in the black booth. As visitors and collectors squint closely at the Japanese-inspired erotica they will see that the scratched scribbles are actually milk squirting out of a nipple. And the copulating male figure’s hand is always the source of the drawn lines. A self-portrait, perhaps? The suite of 11 prints, in an edition of 20, is on sale for $25,000.
David Hockney
The Arrival of Spring in Woldgate, East Yorkshire in 2011 (twenty eleven) (2011)
Annely Juda (B7)
The British artist created this series of landscapes using the Brushes app on an iPad. Ever the enthusiast for new technologies, Hockney has said that even Picasso “would have gone mad” for the iPad. There are 45 different prints in the series, in an edition of 25, and they cost $28,000 each. Once the whole run has been printed, Hockney destroys the high-res file so that no more can be printed, says Nina Fellmann of London-based Annely Juda.
Andy Warhol
Shoes (1980)
Hans Mayer (D7)
Andy Warhol’s Shoes (1980) comes from the Düsseldorf-based dealer Hans Mayer’s personal collection of the artist’s works. Warhol—who sprinkled his fair share of metaphorical stardust—“threw diamond dust” onto the wet silkscreen print to achieve the sparkly finish, says Mayer. The shoe series was originally made for Anena, a well-known shoe shop in Germany, Mayer says, and is on sale for $240,000.
Avi Gold
Larry David Sunburn Beach Towel (2015)
Art Metropole (Entrance B)
Head to Art Metropole’s stand at Entrance B to admire Larry David Sunburn Beach Towel by Avi Gold. At $120, one buyer was told in no uncertain terms by his wife that he “can’t use it as a towel”, while another fan “plans to hang it beside a framed photo of Larry David”, says Hannah Myall of Art Metropole. This second run of 200 towel prints is almost sold out—and the artist does not plan to make any more.