Harmony Hammond: Monster Prints
SITE Santa Fe, Santa Fe, NM
PrimariIy known for her Iarge mixed-media paintings, Harmony Hammond's series of 11 monotypes was completed in 2001 at the VisuaI Arts Center in North Adams, Massachusetts, where she worked on the center's "monster press", one of the largest non-commerciaI printing presses in the country. Measuring 5 x 10 feet, the series demonstrates Hammond's interest in materiality and process and pushes the Iimitations of the monotype process. UtiIizing thicker than usuaI layers of ink, she created complex surfaces that combined a clean minimal formalism with post-minimaI process. The prints are remarkable for their painting scale, rich surfaces, and metallic " bronzing" effects, noticeable in the dark tones.