DESMET, Anne RA RE, b. 1964 ~ Towards the Light
Reduction wood engraving. Edition of 25, numbered, titled and signed in pencil by the artist. Image size 584 x 126 mm. Paper size tbc mm.
As a renowned master of the art of engraving, Anne Desmet demonstrates here how the detail of the staircase was always there, waiting to be ‘carved free’ by the light, gradually bringing life to her subject. This work was exhibited at the Royal Academy Summer Exhibition in 2019 and was the lead engraving for Anne Desmet’s solo exhibition of the same name.
Anne Desmet was born and brought up in Liverpool and gained her BFA and MA in Fine Art from Oxford and a Postgraduate Diploma in Printmaking from Central School of Art and Design. In 2011 she became the third wood engraver to be elected as a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in its 250 year history. Desmet’s works are in numerous public and private collections across the World including the Ashmolean Museum and the Whitworth Art Gallery. She has completed several important commissions including pieces for the British Museum, National Gallery, British Library, V & A, Bailliol and Worcester Colleges, Oxford, the Royal Mint and Dulwich College. She has had over 30 solo shows to date including three major retrospectives at the Ashmolean, the Whitworth and the Ex Libris Museum in Moscow.
Desmet is engaged with the evolution of the urban landscape and its testimony to the aspirations and experiences of humanity. Her work ranges from small scale, detailed examinations to sweeping, often fantastical, panoramas.