Lot 88
**Originally Listed At $300**
Paul Harvey Scull (British, active late XX to XXI century). "Churchscape" etching on paper, 1976. Edition 2 of 25. Hand-signed, dated, titled, and numbered below plate. A moody and atmospheric etching, "Churchscape" captures the silhouette of a solitary church tower rising against a dramatic, windswept sky. Executed in a restrained monochromatic palette, the work emphasizes tonal contrast and the shifting interplay between light and shadow. The sparse treatment of detail directs the viewer's attention to the balance between structure and void, evoking a sense of both presence and absence. Unlike the minimal and abstract works for which Scull later became known, this print reflects his early exploration of representational subject matter. Even so, one can already see his sensitivity to space, form, and the ambiguity between solid and void that would define his mature practice. Size of etching: 19.25" W x 14.5" H (48.9 cm x 36.8 cm); of frame: 27" W x 23" H (68.6 cm x 58.4 cm)
The sparse detail and reliance on tonal gradation suggest not just a physical landscape but also an emotional and spiritual one, bridging the outer world with an inner state of contemplation. This early etching reflects Paul Harvey Scull's lifelong investigation into spatiality and the metaphysical qualities of light and dark. His preference for monochrome, seen here in deep earthy browns and grays, heightens the ambiguity of the composition, allowing the image to hover between representation and abstraction. The result is a scene that feels both grounded in the landscape and simultaneously transcendent, pointing toward the "space open to becoming" that defines Scull's mature practice. Printed in a small edition of just 25, this impression, numbered 2, captures Scull at a formative moment in his artistic journey, where representation and abstraction coexist in tension and balance.
Artist's statement: "Since the early 1990s I have continued to make two-dimensional works that I describe broadly as an exploration of issues related to spatiality and dark/light. One specific concern with space has been an ongoing consideration of what is often referred to as negative space (as opposed to positive space) which many oriental artists and designers refer to as 'Ma'. For them this space has been a long held essential element in painting and garden design and roughly translates as a gap, pause or space in a painting - like an interval between musical notes. Linked to 'form' and 'ground' has been a concern with flatness and illusion and how, in a non-figurative way, it could sometimes hover between, and thus leave unclear what is figure and what is ground. My method for exploring all these concerns has been to make work consisting of uncomplicated arrangements of rectilinear geometric shapes, some darker than others. I have continued to make prints, primarily etching, since I first attended art school. One aspect of this medium that enchanted me was that it offered the opportunity of creating a rich dialectic exchange between light and dark. I also have a preference for a monochromatic colour scheme as it consists of one single uniting hue, but potentially with various brightnesses. My intention throughout my mature practice has been to encourage the viewer to 'see' something themselves that I have not prescribed; 'a space open to becoming', an equivocal or ambiguous space, both within and beyond, and, where what is seen transcends objectness. In essence an abstract field that reflects structures within the objective world, but which exists outside and/or beyond it." (source: Derby Print Open website)
About the artist: Paul was born in London and studied at Northampton School of Art, Fine Art at Maidstone College of Art, Slade School of Fine Art and University of Wales, Cardiff. He has exhibited at national and international galleries including the Museum of Modern Art, Oxford; Arts Council Gallery, Belfast; Ikon Gallery, Birmingham; Ferens Art Gallery, Hull; Taipei Museum of Fine Art, Taiwan; Pittville Gallery, University of Gloucestershire; Oriel 31, Newtown, Wales; Wolverhampton Art Gallery. His work is held in number of permanent collections. This includes the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford; Mappin Art Gallery, Sheffield; Bibliotheca Alexandrina, Egypt; Oxigen Foundation, Hungary; Lodz Municipal Art Gallery, Poland; Xantos Janos Museum, Gyor and Rank Xerox. Paul was elected an Associate of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1977, a Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 1987 and a Member of Manchester Academy of Fine Art in 1995. Until September 2014 he was a Senior Lecturer in Fine Art at the University of Wolverhampton and Visiting Lecturer until 2016. While at Wolverhampton he was External Examiner in Fine Art at the University of Northampton (2002-2006) and University of Hull (2001-2004). He taught at Hereford College of Art between 1978 and 1998 initially Lecturer in Charge of Printmaking laterly Course Leader for Fine Art." (source: artist's website)
Provenance: private Arvada, Colorado, USA collection
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#196527
- Condition: Mounted behind glass in custom matte and frame; has not been examined outside of frame. A few nicks to frame that do not affect etching. Otherwise, frame is in good condition and etching appears to be in excellent overall condition with suspension wire on verso for display. Hand-signed, dated, titled, and numbered below plate.
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