Carly Shearer
24 April 2024
The creative instinct in an artist is often accompanied by a desire for freedom and experimentation.
For this reason, many artists like to try working in different formats and within specific configurations and limitations. An artist who paints and is therefore usually confined to the wall may wish to sculpt or use film to communicate similar ideas in another medium or to explore in a more radical direction.
We use the term folio to distinguish a body of work produced in a book, boxed or in a some way contained format, where the artwork is a coherent whole even if individual sheets can also standalone. This is a definition that lies between the book term of ‘folio;’ which can differentiate the way of creating a book by folding paper, or refer to a single sheet from a larger book or manuscript and also be used as an indicator of a specific size of book, and the more general ‘portfolio;’ a large, flat container for holding loose sheets or a collection of drawings or documents that represents a body of work.
In artistic terms, a folio allows an artist to create a larger amount of imagery presented as one item, possibly elaborating on a singular theme or exploring a specific technique and can also inspire ways to be creative within the physical limitations of a book or box. On this basis, an artist’s folio can reveal a lot about their particular way of working or a theme that continues to occupy and inspire them. It is an opportunity for wider exploration and experimentation, allowing the expansion beyond an individual work while still having the coherence of a singular work. Though not perhaps straightforward to display, they are nonetheless endlessly fascinating and should not be overlooked by the art enthusiast.
Below, we explore a collection of artists renownend for their folio work.
Eduardo Paolozzi is known for his ‘magpie’ eye for the collecting of imagery that appealed to him; from art, architecture, advertising and popular culture, he was indiscriminate about the sources from while he would select. His early involvement in Pop Art and keen interest in juxtaposition, for example between high and low culture, man and machinery, indicates why the profusion of space a folio provides would appeal so strongly for him.
Peter Howson is a prolific artist and throughout his turbulent life has always responded artistically, painting and drawing his way through the trauma of war and addiction to the saviour of finding God and sobriety. The production of a folio allows him to present a body of work on a specific theme or technique.
An early folio from 1988, Saracen Heads presents a series of portraits of the clientele of The Saracen’s Head pub, which by his own description was ‘full of gangsters, boxers and prostitutes.’ Each etching is a dramatic and uncompromising character study, titled with the figure’s name and showcasing Howson’s notable ability with line.
David Bailey’s Box of Pin Ups allows him to showcase the range of his photography, while also providing a snapshot of the movers and shakers of the Swinging Sixties, including portraits of Michael Caine, Lennon and McCartney, Jean Shrimpton, Terence Stamp, Lord Snowdon, Vidal Sassoon, Cecil Beaton, David Hockney, Rudolf Nureyev, and, controversially, the Kray Brothers. It is a celebration of both his skill and his network, the wealth of talent operating in London in this period.
£1,500 - £2,000 + fees
CALCIUM NIGHT LIGHT - 1974-7
£3,000 - £5,000 + fees
SARACEN HEADS - 1988
£1,500 - £2,000 + fees
CLOUD ATOMIC LABORATORY - 1971
