1967 – when Folon was 33 – was the year in which he met the French gallery owner and silkscreen printer Jacques Marquet. It was he who introduced Folon to silkscreen printing, and to the dense, bright colours it offers. Like a sorcerer’s apprentice, Folon made this printmaking technique his own by applying audacious colour blends directly onto the screen. This enabled him to create a background of amazing, and totally innovative, colour gradations, onto which he placed the well-defined design. This resulted in works of great expressive power and intense luminosity, which catch and hold the viewer’s gaze.
Like etching, Folon would continue silkscreen printing in phases. In the 1980s, Folon became friendly with the silkscreen printer Wildfredo Arcay. In 1986, they began to work together on the Je vous écris series, which was created using postcards that Folon collected on his travels.
Alongside these original, signed and numbered works, Folon also produced a number of silkscreen printed posters.
For more information see:
Folon, Je vous écris, Hercher, 1986.
