Mel Bochner, Head Honcho, 2017 |
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| Artist: | Mel Bochner (1940 - ) |
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| Title: | Head Honcho, 2017 |
| Medium: | Monoprint in oil paint with collage, engraving and embossment on hand-dyed Twinrocker handmade paper |
| Image Size: | 29 1/2 in x 20 1/2 in (74.9 cm x 52.1 cm) |
| Sheet Size: | 29 1/2 in x 20 1/2 in (74.9 cm x 52.1 cm) |
| Framed Size: | 37 5/8 in x 27 15/16 in (95.6 cm x 71 cm) |
| Edition: | A unique and original monoprint in oil paint |
| Signature: | This work is hand-signed by Mel Bochner (Pittsburgh, 1940 - ) in pencil in the lower left. |
| Condition: | This work is in excellent condition. |
| ID # | W-6135 |
A bold artwork from renowned American Conceptual artist, Mel Bochner Head Honcho, 2017 features a stunning palette of bright colors. Horizontal stripes of different colored hand-dyed Twinrocker paper are collaged together to create a multicolored rectangular background. In a portrait orientation, twelve lines of text fill the composition from left to right, and top to bottom reading: “HEAD HONCHO | TOP DOG, KING | OF THE HILL, | MASTER OF | THE UNIVERSE. | LAY DOWN THE | LAW, CALL THE | SHOTS, CRACK | THE WHIP, RULE | WITH AN IRON |HAND, GOTCHA | BY THE BALLS,” with each word alternating in color from the preceding. This array of synonyms is poignant on its own, while the graphic capital letters and striking colors add another layer of intensity. To arrive at this text, Bochner would choose words from a thesaurus, and arrange the words to fit a designated format, in this case, rectangle measuring roughly 29 inches tall and 20 inches wide. Bochner elaborates on his process, comparing it to “a sort of degegeneration of language, as it moves from the more polite and formal to the more vulgar and bodily” (Bochner, A Conversation between Mel Bochner and Barry Schwabsky, Mel Bochner Monoprints, New York: Two Palms, 2012). Pure oil paint with strong pigmentation make up the lettering of this language based artwork. The glossy and thick impasto of the paint is raised in a painterly relief against the mat, and flat background of the collaged paper base, providing for a visually alluring contrast in texture.
Created in 2017, this monoprint in oil paint with collage, engraving and embossment on hand-dyed Twinrocker handmade paper is hand-signed and dated by Mel Bochner (Pittsburgh, 1940 - ) in pencil. Mel Bochner Head Honcho, 2017 is a unique and original work.
Catalogue Raisonné & COA:
1. Bochner, Mel. Monoprints: Mel Bochner: Words, Words, Words…New York: Two Palms, 2012. A similar monoprint in a different color and size listed and illustrated as catalogue raisonné no. 15.
2. A Certificate of Authenticity will accompany this artwork.
About the Framing:
Framed to museum-grade, conservation standards, Mel Bochner Head Honcho, 2017 is presented in a complementary moulding.
