Audio By Carbonatix
There’s a good reason why Denver’s Dale Chisman is frequently described as one of the most important painters in the American West. But in his latest exhibition, he demonstrates (again) that he is also a virtuoso printmaker.
Chisman’s One Man Show, at 1/1 Gallery, is filled with marvelous work in the form of breathtaking abstracts. The show brings together the products of two different printing sessions, both of which were conducted at the Open Press printing facility up the street. Some of the monotypes were pulled by 1/1 director Bill Havu, but most were done by Mark Lunning, Open Press’s master printer. The first session took place in October 1994; this work is distinguishable by titles that combine the abbreviation for the printer, “O.P.,” with the date. The prints from the second session, made in January 1995, are each titled “After Image,” then numbered according to the order of their completion.
In spite of the several months that separated the two sessions, both series are closely related. They share the same palette–a deep, ultramarine blue used in combination with a golden ocher. (Don’t worry, there’s still plenty of the artist’s signature red here–admittedly toned down in places–as well as his standard black.) Aside from the color, the main link between the two series was Chisman’s intention, at both sessions, to be as spontaneous as possible. Improvisation is key to this artist, and he uses his intuitive sense to create compositions that are perfectly balanced.
In order to create these prints, Chisman worked directly on the linoleum bed of the press instead of on a plate, a technique that promoted an immediacy in the process akin to the act of painting. The method also allowed for the preservation of images. Ghosts–the faint “memories” of forms on the press bed that are left behind after the print has been pulled–were sometimes re-inked, allowing an image to progress from one print to the next. For example, in “After Image #7” and “After Image #8,” the ghost of the earlier print bleeds through to the later one. These associations among the prints are emphasized by the sensitive and intelligent hanging decisions made by gallery director Havu, who has clustered works–or separated them–depending on his careful readings of their affinities.
Drawing such distinctions is a formidable task, since all the monotypes share similar formal arrangements. Typically horizontal in shape, the prints incorporate large washes of color that run from the top of the paper to the bottom, dividing the picture vertically. As a result, many of the monotypes falsely suggest a multipanel format; in a work like “O.P. 10-10/94,” the effect suggests a diptych. These color fields are juxtaposed next to more complicated applications of ink–essentially scribbles. At times, additional scribbles in graphite have been put on after printing, finishing touches intended to make certain areas stand out.
A few of the works, such as “After Image #14,” are products of reprinting–in this case, as many as five times. Says Chisman, “I wanted to reiterate it, change it–it’s a fun way of working.”
Chisman has long been one of the Denver area’s chief proponents of the abstract expressionist tradition of the mid-century New York School–when he’s not busy tweaking it. But whether Chisman bolsters New York style, as he does in this show, or critiques it, as he’s done elsewhere, he can never seem to escape its influence. With work like this, it’s a good thing he can’t.
