George Trakas, Isle of View, 2006

This is a rare etching & aquatint, from the Deluxe edition of only ten (X/X in Roman numerals) created by environmental artist George Trakas of his landmark installation "Isle of View" at the University of Massachusetts - environmental constructions of minimal forms that emphasize the natural resources of the site. This rare edition was donated to Friends of the Fine Arts Center at the University of Massachusetts to benefit the restoration of "Isle of View", and it was exhibited at the University of Massachusetts Art Gallery. It is printed on lana gravure paper with deckled edges, and is elegantly floated and framed in its original gallery frame.
Measurements:
Framed: 23.5 inches by 27 inches
Sheet: 18.75 x 22.25 inches

Born in 1944 in Quebec, Canada, George Trakas came to New York City in 1963. Trakas is among the leading artists of his generation working in the landscape. Widely acclaimed for numerous projects in North America and Western Europe over the past thirty years, Trakas’s installations typically incorporate a functional response to a particular site or environment. Some of Trakas’s works include Berth Haven (1983) at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in Seattle, Washington, and Isle of View (1985) at University of Massachusetts, Amherst, which are constructions of minimal forms that emphasize the natural resources of the site. He was recently commissioned by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs Percent for Art program to create a major work titled Shoreline Nature Walkway for the Newtown Creek Water Pollution Control Plant in Brooklyn, making accessible to the public approximately 1,000 feet of shoreline along Newtown and Whale Creeks. In much of his work, the artist recycles local materials and incorporates them into the finished site, providing a strong sense of the character of the original place.
Fine provenance: Acquired directly from the University of Massachusetts, Fine Art Gallery in 2006.

Signature: Signed, titled and numbered X/X in pencil; bears publishers' blind stamp (recto); also bears exhibition label from the University Gallery, Fine Arts Center, University of Massachusetts on the verso of the frame, and is accompanied by the original documentation sheet from the publisher.

Provenance: Acquired directly from the University of Massachusetts, Fine Art Gallery in 2006

Exhibition History: University of Massachusetts Fine Art Gallery, 2006