Talking about screen printing, I’m sure many will be reminded of the iconic prints of Andy Warhol, pop art and the serial reproduction of artistic works. But very few get to know this craft printing technique which produces hand-made graphic design
I had the pleasure to discover the excellent craftsmanship of Fallani Venezia screen printing, where I met people passionate about art and in love with their work.
A familiy tradition
But first things first and let’s make the proper introductions. Gianpaolo Fallani, a noted Master of Art and Crafts, heads the historical artistic screen printing studio in Cannaregio, in the footsteps of his father Fiorenzo, born in Florence, who started the first screen printing workshop in Venice in 1968.
Between the 1970s and 1990s the Venetian art workshop became a meeting point for artists and screen printing enthusiasts from all over the world, who entrusted their own works to the skilled hands of the Fallani family to make master copies. In that same period of time Fiorenzo Fallani was also a teacher of serigraphy at the Fine Arts Academy of Venice, testimony to the artistic prestige of this craft technique.
However, with the new millennium the entire industry was unsettled by the advent of the digital era. And though at first the technology was used as a functional application for screen printers, soon the quality and improvement of computer tools were challenging the survival of manual screen printing. And so today Gianpaolo Fallani’s mission is to preserve not only the family business, but also a piece of the history of the craft tradition. His passion for screen printing is evident as he welcomes visitors at the workshop, guiding them to discover the various stages of printing.
Technique and the magic of colour
At the beginning there is research. From the matrix of the art work different layers are created, one for each colour that later will compose the image together. Then the artistic and hand-made phase starts. “Making the colour is the most enjoyable stage” – Gianpaolo Fallani tells me while mixing the ink base with the colour pigments until he obtains the desired shade. And eventually the magic happens when the ink goes through the frame and is imprinted on the paper or canvas. A firm motion and that’s how the print starts to appear with the first draft. It’s fascinating to observe how the complete image is finally revealed in its entirety from the overlapping of different colours.
Mixing and then impressing the colours on the frame with the doctor blade, checking with a watchful eye the successful outcome of the prints before putting them to dry on the special grids: it’s a work of craft and hand that requires great skill and commitment. Seeing the execution phases you understand the importance of the technique, of the time needed to make a print, well, you understand how much difference the person makes! We can rightly say that hand printed means artfully printed.
Copyright graphic prints for Venice
Today’s challenge is to discover, or better to reinvent, new applications of screen printing. Not only the simple reproduction of paintings, graphics, posters, but also the will to raise this technique once again to the artistic level. The cooperation with artists and illustrators to make limited edition signed prints is a precise move in this direction. They become real unique pieces to collect that acquire in this way the value of a work of art.
One of the projects that captured me is “Cronache da una città sommersa”, a call for artists to support the Fallani workshop which was flooded and damaged by the high water that took place last November in Venice. Chiara Masiero Sgrinzatto, mastermind of the project, explains to me that “the idea was to turn the disaster in something positive, an opportunity to build new relationships from which to restart”. The result was a stunning limited edition series of copyright graphic prints representing ironically the problem of Venice under water.
Artist residencies
Furthermore, Fallani Venezia organizes workshops and artist residencies to give the opportunity to graphic artists, photographers and designers to experiment with the potential of the traditional technique of screen printing by imprinting their own works on paper or canvas.
Just a few weeks ago, the Venetian workshop was crawling with activities and colours for the production of a series of graphics inspired by the theme of Space. Over the period of a week, six young artists took on the role of printers, and experienced a true return to craftsmanship.
Starting with the study and breakdown of the works on several levels, they then moved to the choice of colours and finally they “got their hands dirty” learning how to use the frame and doctor blade under the expert guidance of Gianpaolo Fallani. Thus, the original limited edition screen prints were born right before their eyes, a new and unique release of their own artworks.
SPAZI. Illustrazioni Seriali for Fallani Venezia, processing steps.
Photo courtesy: Fallani Venezia
