This extraordinary piece is a 4 Block Wood Cut with 65 Piece Chine Collé. The piece measures 20.5 x 25 inches and is produced on various papers: Somerset Velvet, Gampi MM20, Kitikata, Torinoko, and Thai Mulberry. Booker’s work was printed by Robert Blackburn Printmaking Workshop and the printers who contributed to this intricate and labor intensive project are Phil Sanders, Sam Chun, and Chris Dunnett. The production of this print required 20,000 pieces which all needed to be cut, stored and registered before going through the press. Master printer Phil Sanders compared the production to conducting an orchestra which is an interesting analogy since the image evokes sound and movement.
Chakaia Booker is perhaps best known for her monumental tire sculptures. Similar patterns and the sense of monumentality have been translated into her print. Her commissions and exhibits include some of the most renowned institutions in our country. Just to name a few, her exhibited pieces have been on view at the Whitney in New York and the Corcoran in Washington, DC. Her work can be found in the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Studio Museum in Harlem, and Storm King.
Museum Collections
Bowdoin College Museum of Art, Maine
Hudson County Community College Foundation, New Jersey
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Montclair Art Museum, New Jersey
National Museum of Women in the Arts, Washington DC
Palmer Museum of Art, The Pennsylvania State University
Virginia Museum of Fine Arts