Dix Sept One I

Ramon Edward Oeschger

Ramon Oeschger, who taught printmaking at San Jose State in California, had studied at the experimental workshop Atelier 17 in Paris nearly two decades prior to his creation of “Dix Sept One I,” yet many of the influences of the famous experimental workshop remained, this print's organic, lush atmosphere, made luminescent with its vivid colors and layered textures, illustrates the staying power of the Atelier.

Deeply etched and saturated in jewel tones, this composition illustrated Oeschger’s keen understanding of the intaglio method, lacing complex geometric patterns over plumes of emerald green shot through with ruby and cobalt. A straight, abrupt line shoots through the center of the piece, and Oschger carefully pulls the shard-like lines apart from the center out. They begin to resemble an explosion observed in slow motion, quietly moving outward toward the edges of the matrix.

Before his time at the Atelier, he had been a printer first and a printmaker second. However, after returning to the Bay Area in the mid 1950s, Oeschger concentrated almost entirely on printmaking, specifically etching and engraving, as well as the collagraph process. He took on a teaching position at San Jose City College where he would eventually become Chair of the Art Department and remain an influential promotor of printmaking for the rest of his nearly four-decade career. He was awarded a purchase prize at the National Print Exhibition, 14th Biennial at the Brooklyn Museum.

Ramon Oeschger died in Saratoga, CA on April 6, 1992.