Brad Faine is an internationally recognised artist and printmaker who was, for 40 years the managing director of Coriander Studio, under whose stewardship was one of Europe’s foremost printers and publishers of fine art limited editions. Even though he generates the majority of his images on computer, he considers himself to be working within the tradition of ‘easel painting’, as he enjoys and is committed to the making and manipulation of objects.

‘I was one of those sixties art students who became totally committed to conceptual art. Prior to my time at Leicester College of Art, my paintings had been predominantly concerned with images that dealt with the juxtaposition of painterly brushwork with flat hard-edge forms. The use of form, line and colour for their own sake, provided a basis for investigating illusion and reality on two and three dimensional surfaces. However while at Leicester I met Sydney Harry whose amazing work with colour, led me to become interested in all aspects of colour phenomena and to explore ways of integrating them into painting and printmaking, (I continue to exploit his theories to this day, when making prints). Also at Leicester I was fortunate enough to meet Mike Hale, who had been a master printer at Kelpra Studio, and whose expertise in screen printing encouraged me to use the medium to manipulate colours. His commitment to teaching students how make prints properly, provided a catalyst that later enabled me to establish Coriander Studio as a Fine Art screen-print company.

One of the problems I found when working with conceptually based abstract painting, was deciding its subject matter. The miscellaneous groups of ideas such as ‘the elements’, ‘the four seasons’ or the ‘seven deadly sins’ etc have, for a number of years, provided me with a point of departure from which to explore colour and form, divorced from direct figurative elements.

Although I had worked for many years making prints for Henri Chopin, and Tom Phillips (both of whom use text in their work), it was Peter Blake who introduced me to the idea of using the alphabet in my images, which provided me with an important element hitherto lacking, namely a linguistic content. For years I had felt that I wanted to deal with the kind of ideas I encountered while reading Joseph Heller’s Catch 22. The book was written in such a way that I could not help laughing at the awful situations Heller described, while simultaneously feeling guilty at finding them so funny. I now attempt to create images that are at first sight attractive or even ‘pretty’, but on closer inspection contain alliterative texts that contradict, question or are critical of the visual content. For example in the print Monsters of the Universe, the brightly coloured ‘World Series’ poker chips are juxtaposed with an alliterative A to Z of attributes reflecting on the behaviour of bankers, and their self professed epithet that they were (prior to the crash)’The Masters of the Universe’.

Even though I generate the majority of my images on computer, I still consider myself to be working within the tradition of ‘easel painting’, as I enjoy and am committed to the making and manipulation of objects. I also believe that it is important to actually work on the making of images, as the process invariably leads to the discovery of new ideas, and hopefully helps to produce something that is a pleasant surprise and not a slavish facsimile of the point of departure; indeed it is often the case that the residue of an idea leads to other ideas.

My digital prints are all first generation artworks that do not exist in any other form and are not reproductions of drawings or existing paintings. Some images contain figurative or historical elements and could be construed as digital collages, others are purely coloured abstractions that contain since 2004 text or numbers. They have all been created on computer using Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator and printed with archival ink on canvas and subsequently overprinted with screen-print glazes.’

Brad Faine

BRAD FAINE | editions

1 Within the Rules ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 170 x 130 cm £ 4,500

2 Angels and Demons ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 170 x 130 cm £ 4,500

3 Cardiac Arrest ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 120 x 120 cm £ 3,500

4 Pretty Ribbons ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 120 x 120 cm £ 3,500

5 Vitruvian Mannequin no.3 ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 100 cm £ 2,500

6 Homage to Barnett Newman ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 100 cm £ 2,500

7 Intimations of Mortality 1 (classical) ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 120 x 120 cm £ 3,500

8 Intimations of Mortality 2 (abstract) ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 120 x 120 cm £ 3,500

9 Yellow Brick Road ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 130 x 110 cm £4,000

10 I’d like to thank ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 130 x 100 cm £4,000

11 Down the Tube no.2 ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 100 cm £ 2,500

12 Salami Theory 2 ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 100 cm £ 2,500

13 Monkey Business ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 120 x 120 cm £ 3,500

14 50 Shades of Grey ed. of 5 diamond dusted digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 130 cm £ 4,500

15 Monsters of the Universe ed. of 5 diamond dusted digital print on canvas with hand glazing 120 x 120 cm £ 3,500

16 Art Malarkey ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 130 x 130 cm £ 4,000

17 Fear of Cats ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 100 cm £ 2,500

18 Fear of Dogs ed. of 5 digital print on canvas with hand glazing 100 x 100 cm £ 2,500

Selected Exhibitions

2014 Art London 2014 CCA Stand GX Gallery Collectable Prints. Dark Matter Studio. ‘Intimations of Mortality.’ A solo exhibition of prints on canvas. 45 Park Lane Group Exhibition2013 Art London 2013 – CCA Galleries Blue Moon Gallery – prints by Brad Faine. The London Print Fair at the Royal Academy of Art (CCA Galleries stand) Collectable prints at the Hicks Gallery The Royal Academy Summer Exhibition CCA International (Jersey) Launch, A selection of gallery artists. The Brook Gallery. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly, prints by Brad Faine.. GX Gallery and Searcys present an exhibition of Brad Faine prints at the Gherkin. Edge of Arabia Christmas Exhibition.2012 Multiplied with CCA at Christies Art London 2012 – CCA Galleries London Original Print Fair – Royal Academy of Art – CCA Gallery Royal Academy Summer Exhibition. Multiplied with CCA Galleries at Christies Liverpool Love mixed show at Museum of Liverpool Brad Faine at London Sketch Club. Mixed prints at Railings Gallery Generations a mixed show at Gallery 402 Chelsea Futurespace – Prints ‘R’ Us prints by Brad Faine and Steve Thomas.2011 Christmas with Coriander, Jill George Gallery. Art London 2011 – CCA Galleries London Original Print Fair – Royal Academy of Art – CCA Gallery Pop Art a mixed show at Belgravia Gallery Royal Academy Summer Exhibition Icons, Perceptions, Metaphors, (Blake, Faine, Neiland) New Walk Museum & Art Gallery Leicester Frog and Mouse Gallery Leicester with Peter Blake and Brendan Neiland2010 Christmas Delights at Jill George Gallery Coriander incorporated into CCA Galleries. London Original Print Fair – Royal Academy of Art – CCA Gallery Under the Influence Brad Faine at Chelsea Arts Club2009 Neiland’s Choice at John Bloxham Gallery2008 New Screen Prints at Jill George Gallery2007 Coriander Studio 35 years of print publishing, Jill George Gallery2004 Invited Studio at Sao Paolo Print Biennale2003 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition2002 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition2001 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition1999 Academicians and Arts Club members of RA Schools staff in Dubai1998 Into the Light – 4 studios at the Octagon Gallery Bath1997 The Print Show – Concourse Gallery Barbican1993 Coriander Studio Show – A Print is a Print is a Print at Cork Street Gallery1987 Celebration – Wigan Print Extravaganza1982 Coriander Studio Show – Screen Spectrum at Thumb Gallery1984 Band Aid for Live Aid print exhibition at Royal Academy of Art1978 Coriander Studio Show - Serigraphic Prints at Curwen Gallery1969 3d Chess Set - Invention of Problems at ICA London1968 Interplay - Britain’s Entry to the Paris Biennale

Brad Faine

1945 Born in Brighton1965-66 West Sussex College of Art.1966-67 Southampton College of Art.1966-69 Leicester College of Art.1968 Interplay - Britain’s Entry to the Paris Biennale1969 3d Chess Set - Invention of Problems at ICA London1971-72 Goldsmiths College – university of London.1972 Founded Coriander Studio with my wife Jane.1972-76 Taught part-time on foundation at Thurrock Technical College1976-82 Taught part-tine at West Sussex College of Art.1984 Produced the Band Aid for Live Aid print with Peter Blake, Gordon House, Graham Bannister and Bernard Jacobson1987 Celebration – Wigan Print Extravaganza1992 Wrote the New Guide to Screen Printing for Hodder Headline1998-04 Part-time lecturer at Royal Academy of Art1999 Into the Light – 4 studios at the Octagon Gallery Bath2004 Invited Studio at Sao Paolo Print Biennale2007 Coriander Studio 35 years of print publishing, Jill George Gallery2010 Coriander incorporated into CCA Galleries.2011 Icons, Perceptions, Metaphors, ( Blake, Faine, Neiland) New Walk Museum & Art Gallery Leicester2012 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.2012 Chelsea Futurespace – Prints ‘R’ Us prints by Brad Faine and Steve Thomas.2013 Royal Academy Summer Exhibition.2013 Made an Honorary Doctor of Art by De Montfort University.2014 First novel, ‘A Killing in Prospect’ is published by Kindle books

© Albemarle Gallery 2015