Hillside with Trees and Fissure

The rich gestural energy of Tony Rosati's "Hillside with Trees and Fissure" derives from an image that was first painted with oil paints on a plexiglass plate and then press-printed onto paper. Because the translucent paints dry quickly, the plate must be worked and printed in rapid succession, with an ever-present threat of failure simply owing to technical obstacles. The transfer of the image onto paper also produces its share of surprises and disappointments. The challenge of constrained time and the suspense of such printing both appeal to Rosati, who admits that the energy and intensity required for monoprinting cannot be summoned routinely. His "Hillside" is a particularly beautiful and skillful example of his success in this unpredictable medium. The print is one of a series of monotype landscapes of Tyler Park, Pennsylvania.