Untitled (Press Series) 1972

This print by Brice Marden is a meditation on the interplay of mark-making and industrial reproduction. It's made by etching lines into a metal plate, inking it, and then pressing it onto paper. The graphic vocabulary of parallel lines, hatching, and solid black rectangles suggests the impersonal language of abstraction, yet it is all generated by hand. The “press” of the title might refer to the printing press, but it also hints at the physical pressure required to make this image. Look closely, and you'll notice the varied textures that range from delicate hairlines to dense, inky fields. The artist’s engagement with a mechanical process opens a dialogue between the unique gesture and the multiple, calling attention to the inherent qualities of printmaking as a medium. "Untitled (Press Series)" encourages us to think about the labor involved in creating an image, even one that appears abstract and detached. It invites a reflection on the relationship between the artist's hand and the technologies that mediate our experience of art.