Desire

Herlinde Spahr

Belgian born American printmaker Herlinde Spahr taught herself lithography while attending the University of California in Berkeley in the late 1970s. This print is included in David Acton's "60 Years of North American Prints" (2009), pages 45 and 46 (ilustrated in color). The image was included in The Boston Printmakers' 39th North American Print Exhibition at the Danforth Museum of Art.

Spahr printed "Desire" at the Frans Masereel Center in Kasterlee, Belgium with Master Printer Marcel Neefs as part of a series, "a cycle of five print works of which only the first two of the series are editioned. 'Desire' III through V are unique collages, using 'Desire' lithographs outside of the edition."

Print historian David Acton commented: "The present print is a drawn version of the three-dimensional collages that complete the 'Desire' series. Spahr drew a prominent diagonal crack through the entire image (which is also embossed in the print), which appears paradoxically to deny its illusion while simultaneously accentuating it...."