Gemini G.E.L. at Joni Moisant Weyl

You are following

Follow this partner

New York

GEMINI G.E.L. AT JONI MOISANT WEYL was established in 1984 as the New York gallery exhibiting and representing the publications of the Los Angeles-based artists' workshop, Gemini G.E.L. The gallery shows new editions as they are published, and has mounted many historical survey exhibitions, including A Tribute to Robert Rauschenberg: Prints and Objects; The Private Eye of Philip Guston: The Gemini Editions; Ellsworth Kelly: Diagonals and Panels 1970-1990; Claes Oldenburg: Editions in Two and Three Dimensions 1969-1995; Ken Price: Prints and Ceramics 1970-2005; Frank Stella: Prints from the 1960's & 70's;"The Venetians: Selections from Five Decades of Gemini G.E.L. Biennale Artists" and Robert Rauschenberg: Hoarfrost Editions 1974.

The gallery began in a by-appointment loft space on Crosby Street, followed by a relocation to West Broadway in the heart of Soho during the years 1990 to 2000.  In January 2007, after six years in midtown, the gallery moved to 980 Madison, where it remained until July 2011. With the relocation to 24th Street in Chelsea in February 2012, a remarkable range of prints and multiples are presented in three distinctive spaces. The intimate Project Space is used for presentations of bodies of work that are small in scale and scope; the main gallery introduces new publications; and the West Gallery allows for longer-term installations of rarely-seen large-scale works - all visibe proof that over its fifty-year history the Gemini workshop has offered artists the opportunity to create some of the most iconic and important editioned works imaginable.

The gallery continues to organize special events in conjunction with its exhibitions, including book-signings, “Q & A”'s with the artist and Gemini printers, as well as private docent-led tours through related museum retrospectives. The gallery also participates in a number of local and international art fairs throughout the year and has been a member of the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) for over 25 years.

Gemini G.E.L. began in 1966 as an artists' workshop and publisher of hand-printed limited edition lithographs. Responding to the expanding interests of its artists, work began on its first sculpture edition in 1968 with Claes Oldenburg's Profile Airflow, and in 1970, Frank Stella's Pastel Stack was started as the first project in the screenprinting workshop. The etching workshop opened in 1977 and woodcuts were being made by 1980.

At Gemini, the artists do all of the drawing or carving themselves directly onto the printing element, be it limestone, copper plate, woodblock or otherwise. The artist stays at the workshop until a "RTP" (Right to Print) is achieved. Edition printing may take several months and each proof in the edition must closely match the approved RTP. Once the printing is completed, the artist returns to the workshop to examine and sign the edition. Each print is signed and numbered by the artist as well as embossed with the Gemini "chop".

In 1981, the National Gallery in Washington, D.C. honored Gemini with the establishment of a permanent archive. The archive functions as a study center for collectors and scholars, and contains a complete history of the workshop. Included in the archive is one proof from each of the over 2100 editions produced, as well as ancillary materials such as shop records and printing elements. Three major touring exhibitions with works from the archive have been organized and exhibited by the National Gallery. An online catalogue raisonné, on view at the National Gallery's website (www.nga.gov/gemini), provides detailed information on the history of the workshop and all of the artworks in the Gemini archive.