Collecting Prints: A Look At The International Print Fair's Modern Pieces

IFPDA Print Fair is the largest international art fair focused exclusively on the artistic medium of printmaking, and it was held this past weekend at the Park Avenue Armory.   I was able to attend opening night and get first glance at the enormous amount of specialised prints.   I immediately gravitated to my favorites which are seen below (and just happened to be mainly from my local New York galleries), but was also intrigued by the old masters.  Nicely, the range was large of spanning decades and centuries.  

The exhibitors showing are experts in the field of prints who are all members of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA). The 2013 IFPDA Print Fair featured 90 dealers; 63 are from North America, 27 were from Europe.

This years Fair offerings presents nearly 500 years of printmaking from early woodcuts and traditional engravings to etchings, lithographs, and innovative contemporary projects. The wide historical spectrum of artists’ works on view includes old masters Rembrandt, Dürer, Mary Cassatt; European Impressionists Degas and Renoir; American and European Modernists John Taylor Arms, Martin Lewis, Pablo Picasso, Henri Matisse, and Max Beckmann.  Postwar we saw masterworks by Jasper Johns, Ann Hamilton, Robert Rauschenberg, John Cage, and Louise Bourgeois.  Of course, my special favroties were from the recent years, such as How & Nosm, Will Cotton (both from Pace Prints), Beatriz Milhazes, Deborah Kaas, Alex Katz, Damien Hirst, Ryan McGinness and Shepard Fiarey.  See those pieces below as well as a quick look at the fair....

Who attends the Print Fair? The Fair attracts over 6,000 new and seasoned collectors, curators from major museums worldwide, artists, art historians, and art enthusiasts.

What is a fine print?  Dealers will present works of art which have been created by hand using the techniques of etching, engraving, lithography, woodcut, or screenprinting. These works are not mechanical reproductions or copies of drawings or paintings. The artist has made the print by drawing or carving a composition on a hard surface such as a wood block, metal plate, or stone. Prints often exist in multiple impressions, each pulled by hand from the inked surface. For an illustrated glossary and FAQs on collecting prints, visit ifpda.org. and for more information and to attend the next Fair visit: www.printfair.com