M.C Escher

An illustrated review of two books on the artist, M.C Escher, accompanying recent exhibitions of his work in both the UK and USA. Escher’s work is contextualised, the article exploring his ideas concerning infinity and eternity, the rootedness of his imagination in extensive travels around Europe, and the centrality of printmaking as a means of production, which deeply influenced his way of thinking. The article points forward to the yet-to-emerge world of computer graphics, hints of which might be glimpsed in his work as a whole.

Review of: The Amazing World of M. C. Escher (edited by Micky Piller, Patrick Elliott and Frans Peterse)— catalogue accompanying exhibitions at the Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh and Dulwich Picture Gallery, London in 2015–6); and, The Worlds of M. C. Escher: Nature, Science, and Imagination (David Steel with contributions by Federico Giudiceandrea, Salvatore Iaquinta and Roger Penrose)—catalogue accompanying an exhibition at the North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, 2015–16.

This Print Quarterly number also features a short text by O’Riley on an exhibition, 'Bildanalytische Photographie 1968-1974', by Timm Rautert at the Staatliche Kunstsammlungen, Dresden in 2016.