Bill Davison, "Snow and Wounds 9.13.09"

Bill Davison
Snow and Wounds 9.13.09, 2009
monoprint
27.5"x25.5" (framed)

Value: $1,200

This monotype is part of a continuous series called Snow and Wounds which began in 1999. The first pictures were executed during periodic snowfalls and were concurrent with treatments Davison received during his fight with cancer.

It is known that individual flakes of snow, although similar to one another, have unique geometric signatures. Wounds, accidental and restorative, mimic this phenomenon as well, but unlike the quick disappearance of snow, endure in various healed disguises as scars. The prints, therefore, refer to the characteristics of snow and of wounds by using a modular system of equivalents, each unit with a luminous and singular identity according to different brush marks, color, engraved lines, edges, and pigment saturation. Rather than using the accurate calibrations of traditional printmaking, these surface manipulations have made apparent the randomness, coincidence, and the Japanese tradition of urshi, which embraces the unexpected beauty that can result from fractures and imperfections.