Paul Binnie

Scottish, b. 1967

Luna/Nemesis Test Print

with mi hon (test print) seal in upper left corner, followed by red circular artist's seal, BINNIE, titled and signed in pencil on the bottom margin, T/P, Luna/Nemesis, Paul Binnie, 2020

13 1/8 by 14 5/8 in., 33.2 by 37.2 cm

This test print was created during the development stage for Luna (depicting a snow-white cat who peers down at the moon) which was commissioned by Rhiannon Paget, the Asian Art Curator at the The John and Mable Ringling Museum of Art, as part of their 2021 exhibition and accompanying catalog, Saito Kiyoshi: Graphic Awakening, celebrating the prominent sosaka-hanga artist Saito Kiyoshi (1907-1997).

Luna was made using the same hanshita (keyblock proof) that that was used to create Nemesis, the calico cat from Binnie's 2019 release, and although much of the resemblance to Nemesis remains, we can see evidence of the artist's creative process as he begins to shift from one design to the other.

Some elements of the Luna design have already been decided upon, including the blue background and the mokume-zuri (wood grain) printing used on the cushion in homage to Saito who often utilized this technique in his own work. Other elements, while not yet fully developed, seem to be forming. While the cat is still calico, his color has softened and his stripes are slightly more textured as Binnie explores the sosaku-hanga theme. Likewise, the pink ball is no longer a ball of string and is speckled with white, perhaps hinting of the craters of the moon it would later become.

(inv. no. C-3195)

price: $700