Literature

Durham Press is pleased to announce Category V, a suite of screenprints by James Nares. Comprised of five prints measuring 37 x 19 1/4 inches each, Category V is published in an edition of 45 and is available individually or as a set.

With Category V, Nares continues to develop his celebrated brushstroke imagery. Each print depicts a solitary,

gestural mark that the artist made with brushes of his own design. The prints record the dance-like motions of

these brushes—their twists, skips, dashes, and turns. While these works often draw associations with action

painting because of their free-form appearance, Nares practice stands apart because of his commitment to

repetition and his exacting eye. He rejects many compositions while creating a stroke, clearing the surface and repeating his process until a desired state of movement and balance is achieved in each image.

A similar meticulousness was applied to the printing process in creating Category V. Each print features twelve screenprinted applications of ink. Building from pale violet to rich vibrant tones, these layers unify to capture the

subtlety and vitality of the artist’s brushwork.

Among Nares’s collaborations with Durham Press, Category V is distinct. While his previous prints feature

brushstrokes suspended in the middle of the page or traveling from end to the other, many of these new works

engage three or four edges of the paper. In certain areas, the brushstroke almost leaves the page entirely, only

to return and continue on its fluid path. When considering the suite together, this movement on and off the page

becomes particularly dynamic. One can imagine lines jumping from one print to another, further uniting the

individual images into a larger, cohesive composition.

For more information about Category V or previous collaborations between Nares and Durham Press, please

contact us at sales@durhampress.com