Oi Fortin

Artworks

About the Artist

United States

I am a printmaker specializing in Monotype prints, living and working in New Haven, Connecticut. I have a studio in an artists’ enclave called Erector Square. I am a full-time artist, working in my studio most days, with a few days a month set aside to explore and get new ideas and inspiration by going to museums, lectures, seminars and talks by other artists. I am happiest when I am working in my studio. I exhibit in various venues: galleries, cafés, community centers and museums, in the US and overseas. My studio is a working space, but I welcome visitors by appointment or during the Erector Square weekend of City-Wide Open Studios, hosted by Art Space New Haven, in October.

What is Monotype? A monotype is a print made by painting or drawing with ink on a plate of smooth material, such as copper, zinc or plexiglass. Special printmaking paper is placed on the plate, and the two are passed through a printing press, transferring the image onto the paper. The print produced is one-of-a-kind (monotype), although sometimes a faint “ghost-print” can be made from any ink remaining on the plate. Inks are oil-based or water-based. Different materials can be placed between plate and paper, or paper and press to emboss and embellish the monotype.

My recent series of prints, titled Catalan, is an homage to the Spanish masters, in particular Antoni Gaudí. In these prints I am trying to capture the sensuality of Barcelona and its environs, and the light that suffuses its citizens as they work and recreate. The prints vary in size from 30” x 22” to 1” x 4.” There are multiple layers of colors, shapes/form and textures.

In a print call “Las Ramblas” (30” x 22”), I printed several layers to pull the viewer into the work. A midnight blue wash with blocking of shapes creates the background, evoking the harbor’s influence on this famous promenade. I added texture for depth and hand printed vibrant geometric forms to imply the strolling and commerce that is ever-present. What I am after here is a good balance between tranquility and outburst.