JAY BATLLE

Season of mists and mellow fruitfulness,

Close bosom-friend of the maturing sun;

Conspiring with him how to load and bless

With fruit the vines that round the thatch eaves run...

—John Keats “To Autumn”

In Jay Batlle’s new series of twenty-four unique monoprints, Les Vendanges, the artist builds on his previous work in print with a new theme: the grape harvest in Southern France. Using multiple techniques: woodcut, lithography, and hand-coloring, the artist builds a group of prints with a wide range of textures and shifting colors. These vibrant color shifts vary dramatically throughout the series. From pale washes of yellow and green to thick strokes of woodcut lines, there is a sense of natural light informing each print. When we look at the composition, we feel the boldness of the light that reaches in and around the vines laden with ripe fruit. In all of these works, Batlle creates a unique balance with a rigorous drawing style that emerges from within. Delving into his experimental approach, Batlle varies the combination and intensity of color in each unique piece.In some prints, he adds areas of hand-painted bright watercolor into the composition. Others feature graphic lines of woodcut that sit up on the surface of the page. Some graphic elements, like the wood posts of the arbor, play a major role in the composition, acting as a framing structure.Whereas other prints reach a more “all-over” sense of a rich color-field keeping the viewer engaged and involved. One senses the changing landscape and the desire to capture it all.

—Andrew Mockler