Lithograph on wove paper by BFK Rives (watermark);
Signed and numbered lower right: 32/50;
Sheet size: approx. 25.59 x 19.69 in / Image: 19.69 x 10.83 in inch framed;
Printed at Erker-Presse St. Gallen (embossed stamp lower left)
The original lithograph Rencontre (Encounter) was created between 1962 and 1963 as part of the significant late graphic oeuvre of the Ukrainian-American avant-garde artist Alexander Archipenko. The sheet belongs to the renowned series Les Formes vivantes and is listed in the authoritative catalogue raisonné under the number Karshan 42.
Stylistically, the work condenses Archipenko’s lifelong pioneering contribution to Cubism by dissolving human silhouettes and faces into geometrically interlocking, organically flowing lines. The lithograph was printed on fine BFK Rives wove paper at the renowned Swiss Erker Press in St. Gallen. The hand-signed edition is strictly limited to 50 copies worldwide, supplemented by a small number of Roman-numbered artist’s proofs. Collectors’ copies typically bear the characteristic blind stamp of the print workshop. Today, impressions of this work are held in major international collections and institutions, including the Dresden State Art Collections.
