| The legendary M.C. Escher's art might not provide something for everybody, but it comes closer than most.
From 1938 until his death in 1972, the Dutch artist produced his best known works, mind-stretching (or mind-bending) prints in which patterns of fish morph into birds, or angels and demons interlock perfectly.
These pieces inspired a generation of hippies, but they spring from the same mathematics that gave birth to the digital age. The designs of "Division of the Regular Plane" resemble computer art because they influenced it. The artworks themselves haven't changed, but this is not the M.C. Escher that's most familiar.
Drawing for the second time on the resources of the Escher estate, Skot Foreman brings us some of Escher's all-time favorites, alongside a wealth of work never before seen in Atlanta.
The pre-1938 prints are a revelation. Escher had a gothic imagination before the tiles of Spain's Alhambra palace showed him the wonders of repeating shapes. The folk-tale illustrations and allegorical pictures here were sometimes done on commission, but the slightly shadowy sensibility is Escher's own.
Cool stuff for goths and geeks alike. Who knew? Well, actually, a lot of people knew. But a generation of wall posters has obscured Escher's accomplishment as an incredibly complex artist.
So go. Rediscover Escher as the extraordinary figure of modern art that he was. And take notice to his unparalleled handling of the technical details of printmaking. The impossible perspectives of his architecture and the patterns of dark and light that shift before your eyes invite fresh amazement. Sometimes they get under the skin of even the most cynical among us.
© The M.C. Escher Company B.V.
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