Randy Bolton has been making prints for some four decades. Somewhere in the early stages of that trajectory he absorbed and refined a sensibility toward historical precedent. Evoking the European origins of printmaking, he embraced a keen sense of the relationships between words and images and exploited contradiction, irony, and irrational juxtapositions in his images, often insinuating critical observations about social relationships. His “Daumier-like” wit paralleled his use of popular subject matter in an image environment whose color and serial organization evoked obvious connections to Pop art and comic books. The serial qualities of Bolton’s work not only connected his vision to the origins of printmaking and its later incarnation in Pop Art, but advanced narrative to the point where the relationships of images demanded extended attention and thought. The works are deceptively simple and conceptually complicated.

The other strain I want to mention has a technical dimension. Randy successfully mastered innovative printmaking techniques. Following on the footsteps of the 1960s and 70s, he engaged chromatic structure of commercial printing, tweeked it, and created work that on close inspection fostered an intense curiosity to uncover the details of his craft. Ultimately, Randy migrated into large scale digital printing on canvas combined with pithy and, at times, acerbic fully three-dimensional installations, my favorites of which featured acute environmental statements.

p.s.briggs

Hunters, 2007; screen print (521×465 mm)

Thanks for Nothing, 2007; screen print (436×593 mm)

Buy, Sell, Trade, 2007; screen print (429×589 mm)

Here Today, Gone Tomorrow, 2007; screen print, diptych (435×1108 mm)

Good Night, 2008; screen print (371 x643 mm)

Adrift, Aground, 2008; screen print, diptych (555×998 mm)

Hard Lessons, 2008; screen print (626×448 mm)

Low Tide + High Tide, 2008; screen print, diptych (447×1280 mm)

Let Well Enough Alone, 2008; screen print (454×520 mm)

Space Available, 2009; screen print (630×453 mm)

Lost Horizons, 2009; screen print (560×454 mm)

Coming & Going, 2009; screen print (452×497 mm)

Yes, Maybe, No, 2009; screen print (460×558 mm)

Yes, We Can, 2009; screen print, triptych (645×1311 mm)

No, 2009; screen print (528×462 mm)

Slanted, 2010; screen print (441×656 mm)

Solstice (day), 2010; screen print (456×601 mm)

Long Winter, 2010; screen print (467×591 mm)

Superior + Inferior, 2011; screen print (458×1086 mm)

Thick + Thin, 2012; screen print (459×610 mm)

Have a Day, 2012; screen print (459×610 mm)

Big Trouble, 2013; screen print (459×639 mm)

We Sell + You Buy, 2013; screen print (608x 916 mm)

Exit, 2016; screen print, diptych (970×645 mm)

Happy + Sad, 2016; screen print, diptych (645×970 mm)