Jim Dine, Homage to Kenneth Koch, 1966

Jim Dine

Homage to Kenneth Koch, 1966

Color lithograph on blue grey wove paper with deckled edges

Hand-signed by artist, Pencil signed, numbered and inscribed on the front. Also bears the publishers' (ULAE) blind stamp on the recto.

This intriguing mid-1960s Jim Dine lithograph is a poem-letter to New York School poet Kenneth Koch. It was published by ULAE in a small edition, and more than half a century on, most are in the permanent collections of major institutions like the Metropolitan of Art, the Museum of Fine Art in Houston, and many others.
From early on, Dine had a special affection for poetry, and he would often appear at public panels with his favorite poets, and relate his art to poetry. Known for depicting common symbols and everyday objects, in this piece, Dine includes a pink heart, a piece of toast, a sky-blue color swatch, and a blue heart. The inscription above the four images reads, “O SCARF OF PARADISE/ Blue sky is bread to the scarf" - a juxtaposition of the ordinary and the sublime. Koch’s poetry often emphasized form and sound, rather than creating a narrative. Influenced by action painting and other avant-garde forms of expressionism, both Koch’s poems and Dine’s prints and paintings combine witty imagination, stream of consciousness, and emotional spontaneity.
Catalogue Raisonne Reference: Mikro 39

Sheet 37 inches (vertical) by 24.5 inches (horizontal)

Jim Dine's inscription on the bottom reads "Kenneth Koch Poem Litho" and it is signed, dated 1966 and numbered 20/31
The uneven deckled edges are part of the paper design