Limited Edition Prints - III

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Having discussed the various kinds of prints and the terminologies associated with them, we now look at the factors that need to be considered before investing in prints. There is a line of thought that believes that one should start investing in art with prints, since costs are less, and as you gain knowledge and confidence over time, you can start investing in original works. On the other hand, some people believe that since offset prints are produced in large quantities they serve only a decorative purpose and have a negligible investment value. Therefore, inves-tors must be careful to pick up prints that will appreciate over the years.

courtesy: affordindianart.com

The golden rule to follow when buying a print is to look for one that is produced in limited numbers. An ideal number would be 10 to 20, and you must look for artists who produce such prints. In fact, there are a few artists who make only 10 edition prints and then also sell the print plate painted, so no further prints can be taken. Another thing to watch out for is the 'platemark' and the counter signature of the artist. Very few artists give out authenticity certificates for etchings, however getting one helps.

Art consultant Umesh U V says that from an investment point of view, some intaglio etchings are appreciating in value sharply. Artists Laxma Goud and Viraj Naik’s works are popular with investors. Some of them are even showing a growth rate of about 50 percent every six to nine months. The resale value of a print is generally very good but depends heavily on the subject of the image. For instance, Laxma Goud's 'goat and woman' series are most sought-after. Similarly, Viraj Naik's mystic creatures and Rini Dhumal's emperor series are good investments. Also, serigraphs by Raza and Ramkumar are coveted while Husain's smaller edition serigraphs do well. The trick then is to do a proper research and consult experts before investing in prints. There have been numerous cases where posters have been passed off as limited edition prints. In fact, there have been instances where such posters have been sold for more than Rs 25,000 to unsuspecting buyers. It is therefore important to know the difference.

(Published in Financial Times, Bangalore)

Affordable Art Options - Limited Edition Prints

(By Nalini S Malaviya)

Prints as we discussed earlier offer a good investment opportunity at a fraction of the cost of an original painting by the same artist. Here is a low-down on some of the other kinds of prints.

Giclee
It is a French word and is pronounced as ‘zhee-clay’. According to the wikipedia it is an invented name for the process of making fine art prints from a digital source using ink-jet printing. The name was originally applied to fine art prints created on Iris printers in a process invented in the early 1990s but has since come to mean any high quality ink-jet print. As there is no screen involved, a giclee offers excellent resolution and a rich color density.

Intaglio
It is a printmaking technique, where a design is incised on the surface of a metal plate such as copper or zinc. An intaglio print is created by applying pressure on the paper from a plate where the design is recessed or etched on its surface. Due to the pressure applied in transferring the design to paper, intaglios have a platemark or rectangular ridges that can be seen on the paper. Etching, engraving, aquatint are part of intaglio process.
In an etching, a metal plate is covered with a layer of wax and then a design is drawn over the wax with the help of an etching needle. This plate when immersed in acid etches on the design on to the plate (the acid corrodes the line of the design), while the wax resists the acid. This is also called a line etching. Aquatint involves a process similar to etching, however the end result is finely dotted areas rather than lines.

Limited edition prints are signed and numbered (S/N) by the artist. The lower the number of prints the better its investment value, however the higher the number of prints the more affordable it is.

Artist Proof (A/P)
A limited number of prints (often 20 or less), these are signed by the artist and highly coveted. In the olden days, these were considered to be a quality check in terms of color and other aspects done by the artist at an early printing stage. Now, these are the same as the final edition prints but are still in demand by art collectors and investors, since they are so limited in number.

Prints can make a good investment too

(Nalini S Malaviya)

Prices of original artworks - paintings, sculptures, digital art or installations - have surpassed expectations. Art is quite unaffordable for many people. Therefore, more people are turning to limited edition prints to satisfy their passion for art. Prints happen to be a good investment but one must be thoroughly versed with the different kinds of prints that are available in the market to be able to make a sound investment. Here is an explanation of some of the commonly-used terms in association with prints:

Limited edition print

This implies a certain number of pieces, an identical series that is created by the artist himself. In fact, the artist determines the number of prints in the series and these are usually signed and numbered by the artist. In addition, the plate or stencil used to produce the prints is destroyed to ensure that the prints cannot be replicated again.

Remember, these prints are not 'posters' or reproductions of paintings that are available freely and have no investment value. An artist print is usually manually produced and since it is limited in number it has an investment value, plus these are priced significantly lower than paintings, which makes it an attractive investment option. In contrast, posters are mass-produced, and even though these are an inexpensive option they serve only a decorative purpose. Lithograph, serigraph, giclee, etching, intaglio are some of the options available as limited edition prints.

Image courtesy www.affordindianart.com

Lithograph

This literally translates into 'stone drawing'. A lithograph involves a process of printing from a small stone or metal plate, which follows the principle that oil and water do not mix. These manually produced prints are usually 10-20 in number, whereas offset lithographs that are produced industrially may have 500 or so prints.

Serigraph

This is produced when ink or paint is forced through a fine screen onto a surface, usually paper or canvas. A different screen is used for each colour, and the result is therefore rich in colour and may have some texture as well. A serigraph is generally more expensive than a lithograph and also has better quality in terms of colour density and resolution.

(Published in Financial Times)

Reviews - Chinmoy Pramanick and Kanika Mukerjee & Ashish Hazra

Chinmoy Pramanick, a Baroda based artist recently exhibited his installations in B'lore, which I reviewed. Here's the link...http://www.mattersofart.com/August07/exhireview/chinmoy.html

Also, another B'lore showfeaturing Kanika Mukerjee & Ashish Hazra.

http://www.mattersofart.com/August07/exhireview/nalini.html

A tribute - artist V Balu

Dr V Balu was a noted artist and a peace activist who was killed in a road accident yesterday evening, in Bangalore. Almost 80, he was full of life and bursting with ideas, it is hard to imagine he is no more.

Although, he began his artistic career as a cartoonist he found his calling in paper collages. Vivid collages made out of scrap paper transformed magically into works of art. These were often abstracts but sometimes recognizable forms also crept into his imagery. In any case his workmanship was always flawless. All his collages had an underlying message - peace. ‘Rhythms of Peace’, a brilliant collage with girls dancing amidst a swirl of ribbons is a fascinating piece of work. His art always brought a sense of calm and tranquility to the viewer.


He was not a conventional artist in the true sense but he found huge acceptance and encouragement everywhere. The Dalai Lama and the Archbishop Desmond Tutu also had words of praise and appreciation for him. Strangely enough, some people from the art fraternity did not consider him mainstream, but I don’t know if that bothered him at all. An endearing quality about him was that his visiting card invariably carried an image of one his collages and a calendar at the back! Passionate about peace, he was man on a mission. He wrote books and traveled extensively to propagate this message.

I met him last at a book launch and promised to visit his studio soon. Unfortunately, that will not happen now.