Falc, a made-up word that calls to mind “falcon” (Falke in the artist’s native German), conveys something of the print’s swooping, buoyant energy. Fries strives to create the impression that the elements in her work are “somehow strong enough to stay in the air.” In Falc, she made a photogravure of unfurling rolls of crepe paper that extend horizontally across the paper. She then tested options for achieving the illusion of buoyancy by pasting hand-painted cutouts of brushstrokes onto a printed working proof, which she subsequently highlighted with watercolor and crayon.
Banner image: Detail, Susan Middleton, Requiem, 2008, color photogravure, National Gallery of Art, Washington, Gift of Kathan Brown, Courtesy Susan Middleton