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Meleko Mokgosi — Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)
Meleko Mokgosi — Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)
Meleko Mokgosi — Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)
Meleko Mokgosi — Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)
Meleko Mokgosi — Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)
Meleko Mokgosi — Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)
Meleko Mokgosi

Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)

2023

Meleko Mokgosi's 2023 etching "Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)" extends his ongoing investigation into the ideological structures that govern Black life, labor, and representation, translating the monumental ambitions of his large-scale painted series into the intimate, mark-laden language of printmaking. At 92.7 × 71.1 cm, the work carries genuine physical presence while exploiting the etching medium's capacity for tonal density and layered detail, qualities that allow Mokgosi to embed his characteristic art-historical rigor within surfaces that reward prolonged, close examination. Produced at Island Press, a collaborating studio with a distinguished history of working alongside artists whose practices demand intellectual and technical precision, the print bears the deliberate marks of a process aligned with the conceptual weight of its subject matter. Mokgosi, who was born in Botswana and whose training spans the United States and Europe, approaches the construction of race, power, and subjectivity with the methodology of a scholar and the formal command of a painter deeply conversant with Western canonical traditions he simultaneously interrogates. "Spaces of Subjection" as a series title signals an engagement with theorizations of Black social life under conditions of structural constraint, and this print functions as both an autonomous object and a chapter within a larger, evolving visual argument. Signed by the artist, the work enters a collector's hands as a rare opportunity to hold a piece of that argument in a medium that is, by its very nature, about inscription, pressure, and the trace left by one surface on another. Framing is not included, leaving open decisions about presentation that the work's formal strength can easily accommodate.

Medium
Etching
Sheet
Signed
Yes
Location
Island Press, St. Louis, MO

For Sale — $55000

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About this work

Meleko Mokgosi, Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1), 2023

Meleko Mokgosi's 2023 etching "Spaces of Subjection: Prints (Part 1)" extends his ongoing investigation into the ideological structures that govern Black life, labor, and representation, translating the monumental ambitions of his large-scale painted series into the intimate, mark-laden language of printmaking. At 92.7 × 71.1 cm, the work carries genuine physical presence while exploiting the etching medium's capacity for tonal density and layered detail, qualities that allow Mokgosi to embed his characteristic art-historical rigor within surfaces that reward prolonged, close examination. Produced at Island Press, a collaborating studio with a distinguished history of working alongside artists whose practices demand intellectual and technical precision, the print bears the deliberate marks of a process aligned with the conceptual weight of its subject matter. Mokgosi, who was born in Botswana and whose training spans the United States and Europe, approaches the construction of race, power, and subjectivity with the methodology of a scholar and the formal command of a painter deeply conversant with Western canonical traditions he simultaneously interrogates. "Spaces of Subjection" as a series title signals an engagement with theorizations of Black social life under conditions of structural constraint, and this print functions as both an autonomous object and a chapter within a larger, evolving visual argument. Signed by the artist, the work enters a collector's hands as a rare opportunity to hold a piece of that argument in a medium that is, by its very nature, about inscription, pressure, and the trace left by one surface on another. Framing is not included, leaving open decisions about presentation that the work's formal strength can easily accommodate.

Medium
Etching
Dimensions
sheet: 92.7 x 71.1 cm
Year
2023
Signed
Hand-signed by the artist
Seen at
Island Press, St. Louis, MO

Related themes

Mohn Art Collective

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