Printmaking isn't something I've taken much interest in, so the Imprint exhibition in Victoria did not feature on my weekend plans. But a gallery sent me complimentary tickets, and the exhibition was conveniently close to where I was going anyway, so I popped in. Why not?
And I'm very glad I did.
London seems to have an ever-growing number of commercial art fairs. Nothing wrong with that, except that when you visit enough of them, you start recognising not just the same galleries, but the same artwork.
Imprint was wonderfully different and fresh.
For a start, I'd always associated prints with restrained colour palettes, often monochrome. Yet I found an extraordinary variety of techniques, subjects and colours. Some pieces had the richness and intensity of paintings. Even the framing was inventive.
My favourite piece was a large abstract work with a vivid red form running vertically through it. I spotted it from across the walkway and made a beeline for it, only to discover it was by Frank Bowling, with a price tag to match.
I laughed with the gallerist that while I might not be particularly well-versed in art, at least I have good taste. We then had a brief chat about Bowling's exhibition at Tate Britain in 2019, where I'd first encountered his work.
I left full of inspiration, creative ideas and an overturned assumption about printmaking.
Not bad for an exhibition I nearly skipped.