GALLERY NEWS

For decades, Craig O’Brien has occupied a unique space in the art world — not only as an accomplished artist in his own right, but as a master printmaker and trusted collaborator whose technical expertise helped some of the most respected contemporary artists expand their visual language through printmaking.

At Ann Korologos Gallery, a special selection of works highlights O’Brien’s long history of collaboration with artists including Aaron Fink, Carol Anthony, Lynn Heitler, Paul Waldman, Robert Natkin and Steven Sorman. Spanning lithographs, monotypes and mixed-media works on paper, the collection offers insight into the deeply collaborative process that defines master printmaking at its highest level.

Throughout the second half of the twentieth century, printmaking became an important extension of contemporary art practice. As paintings by leading artists became increasingly sought after, prints created an opportunity to explore new imagery, new materials and new audiences. But for many artists entering the print studio, the technical complexities of lithography, monotype and layered color printing required the guidance of a master printer capable of translating vision into finished work.

That is where Craig O’Brien built his career.

“I had to learn how to make it work for hundreds of artists and they all worked differently,” O’Brien reflects. “That’s what I’m good at. I look at every artist’s work as if it were my own. What would I do to make it richer, fuller and show more light?”

For O’Brien, printmaking was never simply about reproduction. The press itself became a creative tool — one capable of producing effects impossible in painting alone. Through transparent ink overlays, hand-coloring, layered plates and subtle manipulations of light and surface, O’Brien helped artists discover entirely new dimensions within their work.

“You can’t paint light,” he explains. “You can paint lightness. Light itself comes through the paper and back out. If you smother it in ink, it gets flat. My whole thing was figuring out how to let the light shine through.”

This philosophy is particularly evident in the collaborative works created with celebrated Color Field painter Robert Natkin. Known for his atmospheric abstractions and luminous “Intimate Lighting” series, Natkin approached printmaking with the same sensitivity to transparency, color and radiance that defined his paintings. O’Brien worked closely with him to build layered lithographs using as many as seventeen aluminum plates, each carrying individual colors and marks that gradually constructed the final composition.

“The collaboration was constant,” O’Brien says. “The artist would draw the plates. I’d print and proof them. We’d make decisions together about color, transparency and layering until the image became what they wanted.”

That exchange between artist and printer lies at the heart of these works.

In Steven Sorman’s richly textured compositions, hand-coloring and gold leaf extend beyond traditional lithography to blur the line between print and mixed media. In Carol Anthony’s contemplative abstractions, carefully balanced geometry and luminous color fields reveal the subtle depth achievable through layered printing techniques. Lynn Heitler’s gestural monotypes embody the improvisational energy and experimentation that have long defined collaborative print studios.

Even artists known primarily as painters, such as Aaron Fink, found new expressive possibilities through the print process. O’Brien encouraged artists to think beyond the limitations of conventional editions, exploring overlays, transparency and layered surfaces that created works with remarkable depth and vibrancy.

“It really is their image and their work,” O’Brien says, “but it always has my imprint on it. I’m the one giving suggestions or options to make the work complete.”

The resulting prints stand not only as individual artworks, but as records of creative dialogue — evidence of the trust and experimentation that occur when artists and master printers work together at the highest level.

Today, these collaborative works continue to resonate with collectors for both their visual sophistication and their place within the broader history of contemporary printmaking. They reflect an era when print studios became sites of innovation, pushing artists beyond reproduction toward entirely new forms of expression.

Ann Korologos Gallery is pleased to present this selection of collaborative works connected through Craig O’Brien’s distinguished printmaking career — a rare opportunity to collect works shaped not only by the vision of celebrated artists, but also by the expertise of a master printer whose influence remains embedded in every layer of ink, light and paper.