SAM MESSER
IMAGINE HAPPINESS
Imagine Happiness 1, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 1/30
Imagine Happiness 2, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 29.75 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 2/30
Imagine Happiness 3, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 29.75 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 3/30
Imagine Happiness 4, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 29.5 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 4/30
Imagine Happiness 5, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 29.75 x 23.5 in. (bleed) Variable edition 5/30
Imagine Happiness 6, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 6/30
Imagine Happiness 7, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 7/30
Imagine Happiness 8, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 8/30
Imagine Happiness 9, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 9/30
Imagine Happiness 10, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 10/30
Imagine Happiness 11, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 11/30
Imagine Happiness 12, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 12/30
Imagine Happiness 13, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 13/30
Imagine Happiness 14, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 14/30
Imagine Happiness 15, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 15/30
Imagine Happiness 16, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 16/30
Imagine Happiness 18, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 18/30
Imagine Happiness 19, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 19/30
Imagine Happiness 20, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 20/30
Imagine Happiness 21, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 21/30
Imagine Happiness 22, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 22/30
Imagine Happiness 23, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 23/30
Imagine Happiness 24, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 24/30
Imagine Happiness 25, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 25/30
Imagine Happiness 26, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 26/30
Imagine Happiness 27, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 27/30
Imagine Happiness 28, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 28/30. NFS
Imagine Happiness 29, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 29/30
Imagine Happiness 29, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 29/30
Imagine Happiness 30, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition 30/30
Imagine Happiness AP, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition AP 1/2. NFS
Imagine Happiness AP, 2025. Lithography, woodcut, monoprint, and hand-coloring on Rives BFK. 30 x 23.75 in. (bleed) Variable edition AP 2/2. NFS
In Sam Messer’s most recent series of prints with Jungle Press, he plays again with the image of Paul Auster’s typewriter. This time, working in lithography, etching, and woodcut, Messer presents us with a group of fresh and inviting takes on his forward-looking sentiment “Imagine Happiness”.
In each print, the anthropomorphic typewriter beams out at us from a lush garden, or an explosion of red, green, and blue colored letters, or a circle of floating tulips. The optimism is clear, evoking the complexity of shared experience. A lively grouping of letters in different colors activates the surface of the print, and draws us in to write our own story.
— Andrew Mockler
B. 1955, NEW YORK, NY
Sam Messer received a BFA from Cooper Union (1976) and an MFA. from Yale University (1982). His work may be found in public collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, MoMA, Brooklyn Museum, Whitney Museum of American Art, Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, Houston, Art Institute of Chicago, and Yale University Art Gallery.
Messer has received awards including the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation grant (1984), Engelhard Award (1985), Pollock-Krasner Foundation grant (1993), and a Guggenheim Fellowship (1996). He has collaborated with Paul Auster on The Story of My Typewriter, and with Denis Johnson on Cloud of Chalk and the animated film Denis the Pirate.