Mario Avati (1921 - 2009)
Born in Monaco to Italian parents, Mario Avati attended the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris and studied with Marc Chagall. He began printmaking in earnest in the late 1940s, and about ten years later began to focus on mezzotint, experimenting with and mastering techniques that brought him significant international recognition and placed him at the forefront of his discipline. In the 1960s as a Fellow at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop he continued his exploration of technique, mastering the interplay of of intense blackness and gradations of light that lie at the heart of the mezzotint process.
Avati lived in Paris
La Bombe et lel Coquillage
Mezzotint on cream BFK Rives paper, 1965; edition of 210. Image size 10-7/8” x 10-7/8”; sheet size 14-7/8” x 19”. Numbered 1/210, titled, and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin. A fine impression in very good overall condition, with minor creasing in the upper right-hand corner of the sheet, well away from the image.
$400
Bon Anniversaire
Color Mezzotint on BFK Rives paper, 1985; edition not stated. Image size 14¾" x 11¾"; sheet size 19" x 15". Annotated Epreuve d'artiste XVI / XVI, titled, signed, and dated in pencil below the lower plate mark. Fine.
$375
Poule
Mezzotint, 1971, published by Aquarius Press. Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 14-3/4” x 13½”. Numbered 60/75, total edition 100 (25 sets to the artist.) A rich impression on Rives paper signed in pencil by Avati lower right hand corner. Archival mat and mount with black hardwood frame.
$450
Mezzotint, 1971, edition of 75 . Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 15-3/8” x 18-7/16”. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Titled, numbered 23/75, and signed in pencil by Avati in the lower margin.
$325
Colombe
Mezzotint, 1971, edition of 75 . Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 17-5/8" x 21-1/8”. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Titled, numbered 22/75, and signed in pencil by Avati in the lower margin.
$325
Criquet
Mezzotint, 1971, edition of 75 . Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 15-3/8” x 18-3/8”. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Titled, numbered 25/75, and signed in pencil by Avati in the lower margin.
$325
Marinos
Mezzotint, 1971, edition of 75 . Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 17-5/8" x 21-3/8”. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Titled, numbered 5/75, and signed in pencil by Avati in the lower margin.
$325
Rhinoceros
Mezzotint, 1971, published by Aquarius Press. Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 14-3/4” x 13½”. Numbered 60/75, total edition 100 (25 sets to the artist.) A rich impression on Rives paper signed in pencil by Avati lower right hand corner.
$325
Mezzotint, 1971, edition of 75 . Image size 8-1/2" x 8-1/8" overall sheet size 17¾" x 21½”. Published by Associated American Artists, New York. Titled, numbered 41/75, and signed in pencil by Avati in the lower margin.
$325
Ballade et Violon
Mezzotint, 1964. Edition of 13 printed on Rives paper. Image size 20-3/4” x 15-1/8”; sheet size 24-3/4” x 18-5/8”. Numbered, titled, and signed in pencil by the artist in the lower margin. A fine impression in fine condition.
$475
Pipe et Coupelle
Mezzotint, 1961, numbered seven of nine proofs printed on Rives paper. Image size 10-7/8” x 8½”; sheet size 17¼” x 14-3/4”. A fine image on a very good sheet with very faint mat toning, a very small loss in the upper right-hand corner of the sheet, and mounting tape remnants on the reverse upper edge.
$375