Two Figures in a Field

201917.5 x 17.5 in. (44.5 x 44.5 cm) Editions of 30; 2 APsOne Print - $250Two Prints - $450

Pair of silkscreen prints on paper, unframed. May be purchased separately or as a pair Courtesy of the artist

The pair of silkscreen print editions, Two Figures in a Field, are part of an immersive installation of the same name by the artist Tom Pnini. The project presents stories of sea voyages across the English Channel, including a famous attempt to sail across the Atlantic Ocean to the Channel , conceived as an art project in 1975 by Dutch artist Bas Jan Ader, who disappeared at sea; and a news story from 2015 about Syrian refugees who desperately tried to swim across the Channel for survival. Juxtaposed, is the story of a catastrophic fire in 1876 in the Brooklyn Theater, a historic theater located in Brooklyn, New York. Pnini recounts these significant moments of disappearance, loss, and tragedy in a multi-layered and experiential way, using illusions to imagine the past.

The silkscreen editions depict the American stage actress, Kate Claxton (1848-1924) , who played the lead role in a play that was performed on the night of the Brooklyn Theater fire . In the silkscreen, Claxton is presented in costume, with an abstract image of the English Channel in the background. Color is manipulated in the prints to emphasize blue and orange hues, representing two themes that are central to the Two Figures in a Field project—water and fire—two natural elements that are in opposition. Two Figures in a Field was presented in Tom Pnini’s solo exhibition at Lesley Heller Gallery in New York, on view from January 10–February 22, 2021.

To learn more about Tom Pnini’s practice, listen to this recorded interview with the artist , conducted in the spring of 2020 and produced by Artis.

Tom Pnini, *Two Figures in a Field*, 2019, 17.5 x 17.5 inches (44.5 x 44.5 cm). Pair of silkscreen prints on paper, editions of 30 and 2 APs.