Whither? by Irving Amen

This is a spectacular etching titled 'Whither?' by celebrated American printmaker Irving Amen. The composition is centered on two seated figures, a woman and child, in the lower half of the piece. They are rendered in shadow and monochromatic gray. They are surrounded by a riot of bright colors and shapes. These are very abstract and don't organize into a coherent setting beyond the figures. To further enhance the image, Amen uses embossing to enhance the surface of the piece. He appears to have used multiple plates to create different sections of the image. He also uses very fine incised marking to create the color fields, although there may be some aquatint as well. It is well titled as the piece is very disorienting beyond the figures. Whither is defined as a poetic adverb meaning, "to what place". Viewed in that context, each section of the piece could be viewed as a destination or place but the lack of coherence and orientation could certainly result is a question like Whither? The piece itself is large. The image is 17.75 x 13 inches at its maximum. It is unframed and presented on a full sheet that is 22.75 x 17.25 inches. It is an artist's proof. It is signed in pencil lower right, Amen with a copyright date of 1976. The title and edition (A/P) are given lower left. It is also designated an artists proof lower center. The colors are brilliant and it is a very crisp printing. There are no condition issues including no tears, paper loss, creases, fading, toning, staining, or foxing. A very dramatic work by the artist.

Irving Amen (1918-2011): A fine twentieth century sculptor, painter, etcher, lithographer, silk-screen and woodcut artist, Irving Amen studied at the Art Students League in New York and at the Academy Grande Chaumiere in Paris. Throughout his career he traveled extensively, particularly in Europe, Russia and Central America. Besides practicing his art, Amen also taught classes in sculpting and printmaking at such influential schools as the Pratt Institute (1961) and at Notre Dame University (1962). His art has been exhibited with the Society of American Graphic Artists, the Library of Congress and at the National Academy of Design. In 1949 the Smithsonian Institution also launched a one man exhibition of his work. Amen's famous art is now included in the permanent collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, the Bibliotheque Royale, Brussels, the Victoria and Albert Museum, London, and the Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris.
Amen's original prints are among his most highly regarded works of art and he has shown great talent in the techniques of the woodcut, lithography, serigraphy and etching. In these fields he is a constant and challenging innovator. Within all his mediums two of the most recurring themes in Amen's art are spirituality and children.