An edition refers to a replication of a work of art, often made in print but also encompassing a wide range of mediums. While editions can be created solely by the artist, they are frequently the product of a collaboration with a skilled master who will realise the artist’s vision. Artist Frank Stella and master printer Kenneth Tyler are just one of the notable artist-craftsman collaborations that have made their mark on art history.
Artisanal textile practices, including carpet-weaving and embroidery, was the theme of ITERARTE’s booth in the exhibition, A Running Thread, at the inaugural Editions Art & Design Fair during Dubai Design Week. 2024.
The fair is the first of its kind in the Middle East, with galleries presenting a diverse collection of editions covering prints, ceramics, and industrial design. With pieces available at a range of price points, the event encourages collectors in the region to engage with an essential segment of the art market, which has evolved considerably over the past century.
ITERARTE’s Variations project is a unique interpretation of the "edition" concept, encouraging cross-cultural dialogue by working alongside artisans in India and Lebanon. The commissioned works are essentially varied editions of artists' existing work using traditional crafts that are rooted in the cultures of ITERARTE's regional focus.
This collaboration between artisan and artist echoes the practice of Alighiero Boetti, an influential Italian artist and Arte Povera member renowned for his arazzi series– vibrant, text-filled embroideries. Boetti would conceptualise the visual work, which consist of hidden Italian word-play in grid structures, to then be crafted by Afghan embroiderers.
In the recent episode of the ARTEculations podcast, Iliodora Margellos spoke with Tamara Chalabi about her own edition series, Stoking Embers (2023), which featured at Editions Art and Design. The works were created with five Palestinian women trained by Inaash in refugee camps in Lebanon, employing the ancient embroidery technique, tatreez. Through this series of editions, Margellos deepens her exploration of themes around feminine identity and mythology, weaving the cultural heritage surrounding the cross-stitch technique into her artistic expression. Margellos took part in the Variations project because she was also interested in sharing her solitary process with others, bridging connections with communities at geographical distance. This collaboration blurs the boundaries between fine art and hand-made crafts, adding a personalised touch to an increasingly industrialised process.
Editions have had a social and cultural impact on the contemporary artistic landscape. First popularised by the printmaking industry, the practice has contributed to the commercialisation and commodification of art. The lower price points and increased availability of artworks challenged the tradition of making singular, unique objects accessible only to an elite few. Enabling multiple reproductions is a positive, as artists can engage with a broader audience and explore with material and technique. In recent years, there has been a surge of appreciation for editions, driven by their affordability and in some cases, smaller sizes. Yayoi Kusama’s smaller sculptures and prints of her large scale work, many featuring the iconic polka-dot pumpkin, are widely collectible, allowing fans of her work to enjoy these pieces within their own homes.
In the art world, editions are often released as “limited editions”—a concept rooted in the ability of a printing plate to produce multiple copies of the same work. Editions can range from as few as two copies to over 1,000, depending on the plate’s durability or the artist’s choice. Each print is numbered and signed by the artist, with fewer prints typically increasing the work’s rarity and value. There will often be an "artist’s proof", a reference print that serves as the standard for the remaining editions.
In 1955, artists Jean Tinguely and Yaacov Agam wanted to broaden the distribution of their sculptural and kinetic work through mass production, and therefore proposed ‘multiples’. The Denise Rene Gallery in Paris was the first to create multiples in 1962, making it a popular approach among galleries and artists worldwide ever since. Daniel Spoerri’s influence in this phenomenon, who pioneered the Edition MAT (multiplication d’art transformable) project, was celebrated in the 2019 exhibition at Mildred Lane Kemper Art Museum, Multiplied: Edition MAT and the Transformable Work of Art, 1959-1965. Showcasing over 100 works, it highlighted the multiple as a concept which reflected the cultural context of its time: the growing consumer culture in the post-war period, particularly in the West.
The practice of producing multiples was popularised by the likes of Andy Warhol, whose screen prints are symbolic of the Pop Art movement, and reflect the irony of the method to make commentary on mass production. Moroccan artist Hassan Hajjaj references this in his limited edition photographic works that blend North African and Western iconography, subtly deconstructing the orientalist gaze.
Pablo Picasso also experimented with multiples, producing a vast 633 ceramic editions between 1941 and 1971, typically released in a series of 500 pieces. They each bear a stamp or marking to denote their authenticity.
Variable editions, or "mono-editions", take this concept one step further, by introducing unique works that vary slightly in form, material, or colour. A monoprint is made through intentional hand-crafted techniques, applied before or after the initial impression, ensuring each print has its own distinct characteristics. For example, Russian sculptor, Naum Gabo would take forty impressions from one woodblock, altering the distribution of ink or painting over each print.
Some public institutions have also ventured into the commercial art market, producing editions that generate profits, and, in turn, help fund their programming and initiatives. Allied Editions, a collaboration between seven not-for-profit arts organisations including Whitechapel Gallery, Studio Voltaire, and South London Gallery, present affordable editioned works at their Frieze stand each year. In their 2024 iteration, they displayed a digital edition of 25 of Hoda Afshar’s In Turn (2024) series, which featured in SLG’s exhibition named Acts of Resistance: Photography, Feminisms and the Art of Protest.
Editions are a natural development in emerging art scenes, as they allow communities new to the concept of buying art to grow and diversify their collections at a lower pricepoint. Dubai is a classic example of this, and is the natural place for the first editions art fair to be held. For over a decade, artists and designers have been experimenting with the concept of the multiple, such as Khalid Mezaina whose background as a graphic designer brought him into the art world, making posters, prints, installations and murals, stationary, packaging, apparel and textiles - always with a comical angle. He is one of many creatives who grew as part of Tashkeel's community, a studio and gallery space in Dubai (currently undergoing sustantial redevelopment) which supports artistic practice, with initiatives such as Made in Tashkeel which commissions artworks in multiples.
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