The Biscuit Factory showcases the largest and widest collection of printmakers and their work in the North, showcasing original work from over 80 printmakers at any one time. 

This autumn we take a closer look at 5 printmakers producing some of the most interesting work this season.

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1: Karolina Larusdottir

Magic, etching and aquatint, 2014.

Karolina Larusdottir was born in Reykjavik, Iceland in 1944 and studied art at the Ruskin School of Art in Oxford (1965-1967). Karolina lived and worked in England from the mid sixties until she returned to Reykjavik in 2012.

Her unique visions of her homeland and England have won her a deservedly high reputation in the fields of painting and printmaking. As a printmaker she works in the medium of etching and aquatint. Her successes include many one person shows, and participation in some of the most prestigious exhibitions in Britain and internationally. This includes the Royal Academy Summer Show, where in 1993 and 1997 her paintings were used to advertise the exhibition. Her biography was published in Iceland in 1993.

Al Fresco Dream, etching and aquatint, 2014.

Karolina’s subject matter is rooted in her upbringing in Iceland. Her grandfather was the owner of the first grand hotel in Reykjavik. Many of the images are derived from glimpses of this busy environment; scenes of chambermaids, chefs and waitresses in the kitchens, observations of guests, and other candid sights. In some works she creates a world of her own, with imaginary people in strange situations. Some are floating, carrying rainbows, or being visited by angels. Her work contains a wry humour that enhances the surreal and timeless qualities she creates when dealing with her favourite topic of people.

Karolina has recently stopped creating new work and her current collection will be the last hosted at The Biscuit Factory.

2. Kate Boxer

Blue Wolf, drypoint etching

The Biscuit Factory is delighted to showcase Kate Boxer’s collection of beautiful etchings this autumn. An artist of vitality and wit, Kate’s animal etchings are quirky, whimsical and highly individual. Her pieces have an engaging eccentricity with their sure sense of line and bold colours. Born in Sussex in 1961 Kate started her career in the early 1990s taking classes in London art schools and has since exhibited in galleries and at art fairs.

Dick Turpin on his way to York, drypoint etching (Left), Arthur Rimbaud in Abyssinia drypont etching and chine-colle (Right)

The film maker Bruno Wolheim has written about her work and her ‘idiosyncratic and deeply felt’ subject matter. He points out how in her cowboy paintings ‘Howard Hawks meets high camp, High Sierra and Frank O’Hara. High fun meets high seriousness.’ Discussing her animal images in paint and print, Wolheim notes their ‘engaging eccentricity’ that comes ‘from a fierce understanding of their innate spirit. The snake, bison, or sand-bird are above all themselves, they express their own independence and individuality, with all the implicit comic tragedy… they are free.’

3. Louise Davies

Louise Davies is a professional Painter and Printmaker based in London. She graduated with a Fine Art Degree from Central St Martins School of Art and then completed an M.A. in Printmaking at Camberwell College of Art. She currently works from her studio in South East London where she creates original editions. A Fellow of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers, Louise has exhibited across the UK and her pieces are popular with both national and international collectors.  

Across the Sand Dunes, etching, 2017 (Left), Misty Morning, etching, 2017 (Right).

Louise’s prints feature landscapes with a vibrant use of colour and a fluid line. Some of her images are based on childhood memories, reflecting on the countryside and coast of the West of England. Many of her prints evolve from small paintings and drawings completed on location in sketchbooks. Louise uses layers of translucent colour and calligraphic marks to emphasize her ever changing elements of nature.

 Summer Dawn, etching, 2017 (Left), Northern Lights, etching, 2017 (Right)

4. Mychael Barratt

Mychael Barratt has been a gallery favourite over recent years and our current collection showcases a varied range of pieces from the highly skilled printmaker.  

New York Map of Days, etching, 2017

Mychael was originally born in Toronto, Canada, however considers himself a Londoner since arriving for what was intended to be a two-week stay over thirty years ago. Mychael studied etching at Central St Martins School of Art, London and became a full time printmaker in 1991. Mychael was elected President of the Royal Society of Painter-Printmakers in 2013 and his work is popular with collectors and institutions alike, with his work held in the Ashmolean Museum, Oxford, The British Library and the V&A Museum.

Drawing inspiration from fairy tales and historical events to Shakespearean dramas and 1960s pop culture, Mychael’s prints reflect his passion for art history, literature and theatre. A lifetime of scanning artist’s monographs and reading everything from pulp fiction to classics has invested Mychael’s work with a vocabulary of half remembered impressions and brazenly pilfered imagery. Sometimes these borrowed images will register with the viewer with a curious sense of déjà vu and other times with a laugh.

Lost Magic Kingdoms, etching, 2017 (Left), A London Map of Days - details, etching, 2017 (Right)

5. Rebecca Vincent

Rebecca Vincent is an established printmaker well known in the North East of England. Originally born in Lancashire, Rebecca studied Fine Art at Oxford and Newcastle Universities before moving to Northumberland to establish her printmaking studio at Horsley Printmakers.

Shepherds Cottage, etching, 2017

Rebecca’s landscape etchings have deep, glowing colours and delicate textures. She uses a wide range of hand-printed marks to convey the patterns of fields, hills and hedgerows. In Rebecca’s hands, the landscape undergoes a stylization process that clarifies the pattern of fields and hedgerows into an almost abstract pattern of intersecting shapes. Add in strong colours and a variety of interesting textures and you have her distinctive landscape style.

Landmarks, etching, 2017 (Left), Silver Birch Autumn Gold - details, etching, 2017 (Right) 

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View and buy from the collections of our featured artists online or in gallery in our Autumn Exhibition. Find our more and browse our current painters and printmakers here.