DNA: Etching I

McArthur Binion

2015 · Color aquatint and sugarlift aquatint etching · Drawings and Prints

Binion combines geometric forms and repetitive patterns with layers of personal archival materials he terms his "DNA." Laser prints from an address book kept since the 1970s and his birth certificate create the surface on which paint or colored inks—often arranged in a grid—rest. These elements record his development as both a person and an artist and act as what Binion calls his "underconscious," the surface over which he adds marks, forms, patterns, and colors. Though repetitive linear elements, such as those found in Minimalist art, connote a sense of detachment, Binion’s markings are hand drawn and irregular. His surfaces have a textural, three-dimensional quality that recalls quilts and other fiber arts, as well as baskets and woven forms.

Artist

McArthur Binion

Date

2015

Medium

Color aquatint and sugarlift aquatint etching

Department

Drawings and Prints

Credit line

John B. Turner Fund, 2022