Four Corners

These pieces started off as a quick exercise. I was looking at a recent etching collage called ‘Profiles’ and attempted to decipher one of the three overlapping faces. I drew four different versions with pen and ink. They were interesting exercises but I was more curious as to how they might be reinvented if I realigned them in my typical fashion. At first I cut the face in half laterally. They were similar to another series of portraits called ‘Bipolars.’ I decided to cut them into halves again so that each portrait would be separated into four square sections and then reassembled and completed with pen and ink. This series is called ‘Four Corners.’

I thought my etching collage days were over. But like every other time I say 'no' it turns out that there's always room for 'yes'. In this case I found a number of older etchings that were buried away and recently rediscovered. Typical of me is my tendency to see my past work with a contemporary eye. I saw the potential to once again build on the past and reinvent the pieces in the present.



















I decided to create portraits because the human face is both universal and immediate. As in all of my collages I organize seemingly incompatible scraps and remnants into recognizable arrangements. I used pen and ink, water color, or acrylic as a means to an end and played with elements of improvisation and spontaneity to make all the pieces fit together. As in all of my work, the results were a surprise.