S.W. Hayter moved to Paris in 1926, and in 1927 he founded an experimental workshop for the graphic arts -- Atelier 17 – a name that was adopted in 1933 when Hayter moved his establishment from it’s original home to 17 rue Campagne-Première. Through the late 1920s and 1930s he began a series of experiments using engraving, soft-ground etching, gaffrauge, open-bite, scorper and other innovative, textural techniques, all loosely based on the Surrealist / Jungian concepts of subconscious image and automatic line. Artists from around the world gathered to work with him and ideas flowed freely. In late 1939 he and most of the artists left Paris as the war approached Paris.

In 1940 Hayter moved to New York and re-founded Atelier 17 at the New School, moving to a studio on East 8th Street in 1945. The studio again became a melting pot for the artists who had come over from Europe, American artists (many who had been part of the printmaking section of the WPA) and some young rebels (interested in breaking with the past and experimenting with techniques and ideas). In New York the emphasis became more on about experimental color printing, including the use of viscosity printing and offset color using screenprint, stencil, and woodcut. As in Paris, the “salability” of the image was near the bottom of the list of expectations.

Hayter returned to Paris in 1950 and re-established Atelier 17, attracting more international artists, many now coming from Asia and Latin America. He continued to experiment with color printing, including the use of Flowmaster pens, incongruous and fluorescent color and flowing, interwoven patterns.

Many of the concepts and techniques of Atelier 17 are continued today through Atelier Contrepoint, located at 10 rue Didot, 75014 Paris, France.  A link to their website can be found under "Links" in the left menu.

Click on this link below to view the exhibition. Once there you can view the exhibition by artist, title, price, etc. by using the pull down Sort By menu in the upper right.
The exhibition can also be viewed as a list or snapshot by using the pull down View menu, also in the upper right.

Just click on the title or the image for more information on each work.

The exhibition page is changed daily and should always be current.  Any works of interest can be purchased directly through the website.

Enjoy your browsing.