Print

This print is an early and rare work by Hans Coper. It is made from carving into a flattened slab of clay which is inked and pressed onto glass. The print is then pulled from the glass, similarly to a monotype print. Coper experimented with this method for a short period during the late 1950s. [1]

Although the sitter of this portrait is unknown; the malleability of clay brings both a softness and intensity to the figure depicted. Coper is best known for his pioneering sculptural ceramics however, his early ceramic work like this print, featured bold figurative designs influenced by Picasso, Brach and Matisse, which demonstrated his interest in modern painting.

Sim Panaser, August 2020

[1] Tony Birks, Hans Coper, (London: Collins, 1983), pp. 35-36.