+ MAM
For some years Fries has been taking an interest in the work of Dutch draughtsman, painter and engraver Hendrick Goltzius (1558–1617), one of the leading engravers of the early Northern Mannerism period. She has homed in especially on two of his series: The Four Disgracers, which delves into Greek mythology and the falls of Icarus, Tantalus, Ixion and Phaeton; and The Standard Bearers, in which guards are shown carrying flags on a pole. Both of these series of copper engravings stand out for their technical sophistication and the “exuberance” of compositions of which selected fragments have been freely integrated into Fries’s own work. Alternating impasto with long streaks of paint, she underscores the sense of movement inherent in the fall of the bodies and the effect of the wind on the generous folds of the flags. Sculptural and vividly coloured, Fries’s painterly forms intertwine with Goltzius’s fine black and white lines.
MAM
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