George Baldessin is one of Australia’s preeminent artists. During his lifetime, he was regarded on par with Brett Whiteley, with both artists rejecting the dominant mode of abstraction in favour of lyrical, figurative imagery.

In 'Emblems and Chair', Baldessin constructs a scene populated by angular, minimalist shapes. A notably abstracted work, this etching shows Baldessin reducing his emblems down to their most basic form. These fragmented silhouettes, composed in an ambiguous landscape, are emblematic of Baldessin's artistic range and endless pursuit of new modes of expression.

Baldessin has been honoured with retrospective exhibitions at Heide Museum of Modern Art and the Art Gallery of New South Wales, and exhibited alongside Brett Whiteley at the National Gallery of Victoria. His works are represented in all major regional and many state collections, as well as internationally at the Museum of Modern Art, New York. He is perhaps best known for his sumptuous brass pears, which stand sentinel at the National Gallery of Australia.

George BALDESSIN (1939 - 1978)
'Emblems and Chair' 1974
etching
Edition of 25
Image Size: 90 x 60 cm
Dimensions: 108 x 77 x 3 cm
Signed: signed and dated lower right: George Baldessin 74, titled lower centre, editioned lower left

Comes with Letter of Provenance

Exhibited: : George Baldesin: Complete Etchings, Mornington Peninsula Art Centre, Victoria, 3 October - 17 November 1974, cat. no. 210 (another example).Literature: Kolenberg, J., George Baldessin Estate: Prints 1963-1978, Australian Galleries, Melbourne, 1997, p. 55, cat. no. 236 (illus., another example).

Other Notes: Other examples of this print are held in the collections of the National Gallery of Australia, Canberra; and Deakin University Art Gallery, Melbourne
Condition:Very Good.

(c) George Baldessin / Copyright Agency