Matt Phillips ~ California

All That Jazz
By Matt Phillips
Berkeley, California: Editions Koch, 2008. Edition of 21.

14.5 x 19"; 16 leaves. 12 monoprints. Text typeface: Scala and Futura. Drypoints printed by Rebecca Peters and hand colored by artist. Housed in blue cloth covered clamshell box by John DeMerritt.

Matt Phillips: "All That Jazz … a demanding project involving a printing assistant working along with me. She prints the drypts I've made on copper in black and white and then we work together as she then prints my monotypes over each separate image, hence the resulting page, a monoprint. There are 12 jazz tunes in all and what is also unusual is the fact that I listen to each while working and in a way am somewhat influenced or moved by each tune."

Jazz songs used:

• Stardust..........Louis Armstrong
• Sophisticated Lady.......Dexter Gordon
• A Nightingale Sang in Berkeley Square....Stan Getz
• Darn That Dream.....McCoy Tyner, Dianne Rives
• Embraceable You......Billie Holiday, Jackie McClain, Charlie Parker
• Georgia.......Ray Charles, Bill Charlap
• Body and Soul.... Art Tatum, Coleman Hawkins
• My one and Only Love.....Pepper Adams, Ricky Woodward
• Of Thee I Sing....Coleman Hawkins, Stan Getz
• There Will Never Be Another You...Art Pepper
• Lucky to Be Me....Bill Evans
• What’s New....John Coltrane

Matt Phillips, Introduction: "While watching jazz musicians I have often noticed that improvisation is of the greatest importance to them. In making these monoprints I, too, have made use of improvisation and the spontaneous gesture.

"First I make a dry-point etching which my assistant, Rebecca Peters, prints in black and white and which contains images and or the title of the music. Next, on a second copper plate I am moved to create abstract shapes using various colors painted in a totally spontaneous manner. The music itself is the guiding force behind each work and this second plate is then printed over the first black and white print. The reader should know that while no two boxed sets of prints are wholly alike the titles remain constant. The tunes here are those I grew up with and heard often and for one reason or another stayed with me. In several instances I knew that there were several interpretations of a given tune, in which case I would listen to all that I could and finally pick and choose whatever appealed to me the most."
$3,000

Morocco
By Matt Phillips
Palo Alto, California: Matt Phillips, 2002. Edition of 8 plus 4 Artist's Proofs.

7.5 x 6"; 8 pages. Accordion structure. Color linocuts printed on Kitakata. Colophon on back board. Design and production by Susannah Hays. Signed and numbered by the artist. Artist statement laid-in.

Matt Phillips: "This book is homage to Morocco, a country that I have visited some six times....

"Each of my trips has been unique in its way. Going there has changed my art beginning with the first 1969-70....I have made many photographs of Morocco, also many drypoints and monotypes, and now this limited edition book inspired by markets. My intention is to offer a palette of sensory delights, to show impressions of people and things. Moroccans sitting or standing or lying before entrances to markets, to capture the flow of images that one sees while strolling along amazing streets piled high with goods, with fruits, nuts, clothing, leather, and who knows what. A fantasy pervades my book which is a reflection of the fantasy we call Morocco.

"Technique: to make these books I have cut many sheets of battleship grey linoleum, selecting 10 for the final books. Each section of each book has been painted in oils, printed on Kitakata paper by my hand. For this I used a Japanese tool, the barren. Each book is unique in that the colors and sequence of images have been varied."
$900

India
By Matt Phillips
Berkeley, California: Matt Phillips, 1999. Edition of 8 plus 2 Artist's Proofs.

5.25 x 7"; 8 pages. Accordion fold. Color linocuts printed on Kitakata. Design and production by Susannah Hays. Signed and numbered by the artist.

D. Vanessa Kam: "The linocut India (1999) ... depicts the people and landscapes of India in vivid and bold colors."
$900

The Beach
By Matt Phillips
Palo Alto, California: Smith Andersen Editions, 1993.
Edition of 8 plus 4 Artist's Proofs.

5.25 x 7"; 8 pages. Accordion fold. Color woodcuts printed by Kathryn Kain. Designed by Susannah Hays.

Matt Phillips: "Having grown up by the seaside, it is natural that I should be especially drawn to this subject. Beaches everywhere in the world are magical; there's a lot to see and enjoy, a real democracy of sensation."
$900