An etching is born | Ugo Gattoni – Sybille’s bath

Artist and illustrator Ugo Gattoni presents his first drypoint etching, made in the Urdla print facility in Villeurbanne (France).
Edited in December 2015 by Sold Art online art gallery, this dreamlike composition featuring some references to his girlfriend Sybille’s anatomy, as well as Escher’s perspective work.
The six-minute documentary shows the creation process of this surreal etching, as well as the artisan printer’s know-how.

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

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Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Printing method:

A few days before Ugo Gattoni started working in the print shop of the URDLA, Vincent Brunet (copperplate printer) washed the copper plate with calcium carbonate to remove grease. He then laid a thin coat of acid-resistant engraving varnish and then smoked the plate with a torch lighter, to make the ground darker so the exposed metal is more visible.

Meanwhile, Ugo prepared a sketch of his composition, which he placed over the copper plate before engraving it. He quickly adapted himself to the use of the stylus. The copper was exposed, the first lines started appearing. At the end of the first day, the outline of his drawing was engraved.
He then determined on his sketch the direction of light and the textures of its elements.

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

After two days at URDLA, Ugo went back to his studio in Paris to continue this etching.
The etching step lasted a total of seven days. When finished, he returned to the print shop so that Vincent prepared the plate for printing. Some varnish touch-ups helped him protect the areas he had scratched by mistake. The bite step could now be initiated; the plate was soaked in an acid bath (ferric chloride) to enhance the areas without varnish. The longer the plate is washed, the longer the acid enhances the width and the depth of the line. After checking this operation with a microscope, Vincent removed the varnish with a solvent. The plate was now ready to receive ink.

Vincent dipped the paper into a clean water bath for better absorption of the ink on the press. He prepared his ink on a heated support to make it more fluid, and then filled the plate in ink by hand to make it penetrate into all the grooves. Using a tarlatan, he removed the excess of ink to keep it only in the hollow parts. The plate was placed on the pins of the press plate. The wet paper was gently deposited on top, using small pliers.

The press was turned on. When the sheet was removed, the etching and the contour of the plate appeared.

Ugo checked the first print, which allowed the copperplate printer to change the intensity of the dark colour.
The print order was signed by the artist to validate the printing process. Vincent could then proceed with the printing of the 30 copies based on that one.
Each etching was placed vertically for several days for drying, and then flat one on top of each other to avoid any undulation.

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

Ugo Gattoni Sybille's bath | Etching eau forte gravure edition pointe seche cuivre copper taille douce | Sold Art

The artist signed and numbered each work and each certificate of authenticity.

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ugo-gattoni-sybille-bath-etching-eau-forte-gravure-edition-pointe-seche-cuivre-copper-taille-douce-sold-art-76

ugo-gattoni-sybille-bath-etching-eau-forte-gravure-edition-pointe-seche-cuivre-copper-taille-douce-sold-art-77

ugo-gattoni-sybille-bath-etching-eau-forte-gravure-edition-pointe-seche-cuivre-copper-taille-douce-sold-art-78

ugo-gattoni-sybille-bath-etching-eau-forte-gravure-edition-pointe-seche-cuivre-copper-taille-douce-sold-art-79

ugo-gattoni-sybille-bath-etching-eau-forte-gravure-edition-pointe-seche-cuivre-copper-taille-douce-sold-art-81

Information about the work:

Ugo Gattoni – Sybille’s bath
Etching, 30 copies. Signed and numbered by the artist.
Size : 25,98 x 19,68 inches (66 x 50 cm).
Printed on 300g/sq.m BFK rives Vellum paper with fringes on the borders (100% cotton).
The certificate of authenticity is signed by the artist and the editor.
Price: € 350.

International delivery with follow-up number and insurance.

Available exclusively on www.soldart.com

Ugo Gattoni / Sybille’s bath from Sold Art • Gallery & Publisher on Vimeo.

Biography of Ugo Gattoni:

Ugo Gattoni was born in 1988 in Vitry-sur-Seine (France). After obtaining a graphic design degree in 2010 (with subjects such as publishing, visual communication, and typography), he devoted himself to a large-scale personal project. During six months, he worked on a 10 m long and 1.2 m high fresco in rotring ink, resulting in an exhibition entitled “Ultra copains” at Galerie Surprise. Ugo Gattoni’s work stood out thanks to this project, and his book “Bicycle”, published in 2012 by Nobrow on the occasion of the London Olympics. He collaborated with major brands such as Hermes, Rolex, Pierre Frey, Ruinart, Céline, the New York Times.

The starting point of his drawings is often a story, which is developed along the project. Ugo Gattoni always grants careful attention to the many details in his drawings. He uses his imagination to give birth to surreal scenes mixing body parts, still life, and architecture. Besides paper, Ugo is a curious artist working on other techniques, other materials, with a particular interest for arts and craft.

SOLD ART

Sold Art is an online art gallery and artwork editor created in November 2013 by Denis and Beno”t Roche. The two art loving brothers have built up over the years a collection of artists’ prints, mainly from urban contemporary art. Printed in limited editions, these signed and numbered works are a way to acquire works by well-known artists. The idea of selling the works came during a meeting with a frame-maker who liked their artistic selection. The creation of an online art gallery is a logical extension of their personal experiences and their professional careers. The brothers have combined their skills: Beno”t is a designer/photographer/video maker, and Denis has a more versatile profile. The sale of a part of their collection has allowed them to start this activity and to acquire new works.

Their passion made them want to start working in the field of edition by collaborating with contemporary artists in a print workshop that cultivates a traditional know-how. They favor the production quality and the low number of published works over quantity. Denis and Beno”t promote the fact that for each project there is a real artistic process and exchange between artists, the printer, and the publisher. The artists work in residence periods for a few days to create the matrix used as a printing support. Pictures are taken and a video is made to discover the work of artists, as well as traditional printing processes. The viewer enters the intimacy of artists and discovers the history of the creation of a work of art in a place filled with history.
The two brothers intend to work with other artists in the coming months and develop projects related to art.

Denis and Beno”t Roche

Our gallery : http://www.soldart.com
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Presentation of URDLA

In Lyon, in 1978, some artists joined up to save an imminent destruction of an old-fashioned lithographic printing office that was going bankrupt. Once this heritage had been protected (historic press, hundred-year-old lithographic stones), it was necessary to define how it was going to be used.
At the same time took shape a political project of cultural decentralization.
So, the URDLA assumed it’s part of commitment for a democratic distribution of living art while asserting it’s independence towards the fashion and towards the market.
Because before being an establishment, the URDLA is before any an ethical will, carried by the complicity of it’s designers and members.
Since 1986, in Villeurbanne, an old factory of 1000 m2, shelters the International Center « Estampe & Livre », having the complete chain of edition of image and text.

The master-technicians’ team animates :
• A workshop of lithography;
• A line-engraving workshop;
• A workshop of typography
• A computing equipment;
• A gallery of exhibitions and meetings;
• A store and about 2 000 available prints;
• A documentation center;
• A bookshop

At first, as a collective workshop, the URDLA offered to the artists of the region equipments until then all found in Paris.
But it’s reputation soon spread, thanks to a regular participation at « SAGA » and at the « Bâle Fair ». It is the amount and the prestige of the artists that strengthened definitively it’s international radiation.
Today, this accumulation of experiences, exchanges with hundreds of painters of all generations and nationalities, confers the URDLA a pre-eminent place in Europe among the printing publishers.
As for the engravers who were invited, they find optimal working conditions and all the technical resources they need.
With the support of the Ministry of Culture and it’s Regional office, the Rhône-Alpes Region and the City of Villeurbanne, the field of expertise of the URDLA gradually extended:
It’s book editing activity shows itself every year in trade shows;
The catalogs of thematic exposures remain useful references for the amateurs;
The quarterly magazine « ça presse », that drew 600 copies, weaves ceaselessly new links with the cultivated world;
Finally, the complete collection of the editions constitutes, in situ, a catalog immediately accessible.

http://urdla.com

Maria Papaefstathiou

VISUAL DESIGNER since 1996 and blogger since 2010. Living in Athens, Greece. She has been focusing her research on poster design and particularly on social poster design and portrait design. Her main poster project is a series of posters celebrating great personalities of traditional and popular culture in Greece and Jamaica. These include actors, singers, musicians, poets etc. This is an ongoing project. “I believe that design is a powerful tool that we designers can use to spark enthusiasm, change mindsets and bring positive actions to our world and our culture”. FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF GRAPHICART-NEWS.COM BLOG. She carefully curates high-quality designs, illustrations, and art, from all over the world that will teach and provoke other designers. Many consider her blog to be an exceptional educational tool. CO-FOUNDER OF THE INTERNATIONAL REGGAE POSTER CONTEST which was launched on December 2011, partnering, the creative activist Michael Thompson aka Freestylee. (www.reggaepostercontest.com)