Scully, Sean | Conversation, 1986 — available on Composition Gallery

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Woodcut in colors, on Okawara. Signed, titled and dated in pencil. Published by D. Villani, New York. Image: 30 x 45 in. (76.2 x 114.3 cm.); Sheet: 36.75 x 51.9 in. (93 x 132.2 cm.).

Conversation by Sean Scully is a 1986 color woodcut on Okawara paper, exemplifying the artist’s exploration of structure, rhythm, and subtle emotion through abstraction. Composed of vertically aligned rectangular panels in earthy tones—green-grays, rust, ochre, and deep black—the piece evokes a sense of architectural solidity and meditative balance. The textured surfaces and divisions suggest layered communication or interaction, fitting the work’s title. Published in an edition of 40 by D. Villani, New York, this print echoes Scully’s painterly approach to printmaking, merging the tactile grain of woodcut with his signature grid-based language.

Sean Scully (Ireland, 1945) is a contemporary artist renowned for his abstract paintings characterized by bold stripes and geometric forms. His work bridges Minimalism and Emotional Abstraction, emphasizing color and texture. Scully's art is featured in major institutions like MoMA and Tate Modern, reflecting his significant influence on modern abstraction.

Sean Scully

Conversation, 1986

Name: Conversation, 1986
SKU: 16597
Price: 14400.00 EUR
Availability: InStock

Form

Limited Edition Print

Limited Edition PrintA limited edition print is one of a number of prints made at the same time from one printmaking plate. A fixed number are made and signed by the artist, indicating the printing order, using the format 1/10, meaning first of ten prints.

Medium

Woodcut

WoodcutWoodcut is a printing technique where an image is carved into the surface of a woodblock using gouges, with the remaining flat surface holding the ink for printing. The areas cut away by the artist do not carry ink, while the uncut areas do, producing the desired print. The carving follows the wood's grain, unlike wood engraving, where the block is cut across the end-grain. Ink is applied to the surface with a roller, ensuring only the flat, uncarved areas receive ink, leaving the recessed, non-printing areas clean.

Edition

Edition of 40 + 10 APs

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●Inventory 16597

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When I got into art school, I thought it was paradise.
- Sean Scully

Widely acclaimed for his abstract oil paintings, Sean Scully is an artist whose works often combine geometric structures with contrasting soft edges and thick uneven surfaces to form alternating panels of coloured squares or stripes – such works as Green Ascending and Rouge perfectly exemplify his trademark style of painting. Although his abstract works appear to have no specific reference, Scully’s previous employment as a typesetter had a great bearing on his later artistic outputs, and of his Land Sea exhibition, Scully noted that his experience of visiting Venice was a major influence as he sought to recreate ‘the movement of the water, how it heaves against the brick and stone of the city’; the artist also noted that his earliest memory of art is of a series of devotional paintings on show at a local Catholic church where he grew up, commenting that they were ‘very geometric, like Russian paintings.’ (Artist website)

Artwork by Roy Lichtenstein

What is late modernism?

Late Modernism refers to the continuation and evolution of Modernist principles in art, architecture, and literature from the mid-20th century into the late 20th century. This movement maintains a focus on form, abstraction, and the rejection of traditional styles, but it often incorporates more complexity and ambiguity compared to early Modernism. Late Modernism explores themes such as alienation, identity, and the fragmentation of reality, reflecting the social and cultural shifts of the post-war period. It is seen in the works of architects like Louis Kahn and artists like Francis Bacon, who pushed the boundaries of Modernism while responding to the changing world around them.

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Sean Scully

Conversation, 1986

93 x 132.2 cm

Language & Currency

Sean Scully