Jim Dine
American, (b. 1935)
Yolk, 2001
etching, aquatint, and softground with hand coloring, ed. 17/17
Published by Pace Editions, signed, dated, and numbered in pencil lower margin, framed.

Jim Dine has been working with hearts as a motif for over half of a century--since the making of his first sculptural heart for a 1960s production of Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream (over the decades his other signature motifs have included tools, antique sculptures, floral motifs and bathrobes). And thanks to his original depictions of these such chosen totems, Dine has enjoyed solo shows at the Whitney, MOMA, AIC, the MET, NGA in DC, the Guggenheim in NYC, the Tate, et al. Over these many years Dine has become an expert in depicting hearts in many formats: hearts alone, hearts in groups, abstract hearts, pop art hearts, radiating hearts, monochrome hearts, Harlequin patched hearts, black and white hearts, stencilled hearts in lines, a large bronze and enamel oil sculpture of heart with 3D tools set all over it, large unpainted bronze hearts standing in rows, etc. etc. Here we have more of Dine's beloved hearts set in another unique form: three (and a sliver of a fourth) red hearts floating next to one another in a line across a blue sky-like abstract background together with one yellow heart (the yolk perhaps) neatly wedged between and below two of them. One red heart looks like it has a halo attached above it, one has some vertical valve-like lines on top of it recalling an actual human heart, and one is the classic Dine Valentine-shaped heart; the yellow heart was also created in classic proportions but its outline has been hand-painted over so as to blur its exact form. Overall a thought-provoking contemporary print about hearts and love set in bold primary colors.
28 x 36 inches