Junction #11 ,  2010  ( RS10-3495 )

Unframed 1-color etching by Richard Serra, 16" x 18"
Edition of 50

In 2010, Richard Serra completed a series of 13 etchings titled Junction, exploring what can loosely be described as an "x" shape. These small-scale prints took a dramatic turn away from the large-scale and ink-heavy series Weights and Levels, published earlier in the same year. Junction is also a departure from Serra's larger body of work, presenting a surprisingly playful and expressive spirit that is typically absent not only in his printmaking, but in his drawing and sculptural works as well. 

Using molten Paintstik, Serra's signature medium of choice, he drew each of the thirteen images directly onto a mylar sheet. That image was then transferred onto an etching plate, which delivered the rich, saturated and highly textured surface onto creamy, beige-colored paper.

• Richard Serra was born November 2, 1939, in San Francisco.  Best known for his large-scale sculptural work, Serra's prints offer another way to view his three-dimensional work – an angle that may have been unanticipated, an unforeseen effect.  Viewed alone, Serra's prints are highly sophisticated, bold and elegant images; viewed armed with knowledge of Serra's sculptural projects, they take on new life, with each medium informing the other.


• In 2007, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented a Serra career retrospective, which was the museum's largest-ever sculpture exhibition to date, and in 2011, the first retrospective of his drawings opened at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.