CHRISTMAS 85 (Floating Apples)

Dan Mitchell Allison, (b. 1953, USA) “Christmas 85” (Floating Apples) Color collagraph signed in the lower right and titled in the lower left by the artist in pencil. The image is 11.75 x 11.5 inches, and the work of art has been mounted and placed in a thin black frame measuring 13 x 13 inches. The surrealistic image depicts floating pieces of red fruit (apples, cherries?) swirling in a circular pattern featuring a palette evoking the colors of Christmas.

Dan Allison is a printmaker and painter from Texas. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he shifted from creating small edition etchings to large-scale, heavily textured collagraphs. Using Masonite as a base plate, Allison builds up the plate surface with an assortment of unconventional materials: glue, carborundum, sandpaper, varnishes, lacquer, metal filings, fabric, chewing tobacco and sawdust. Because of the inherent fragility of the collagraph plates, many of the images pulled from them are limited to very small editions. He received the prestigious 1987 Grand Prix award for the 17th Biennial of Graphic Art sponsored by the Ljubljana Museum of Modern Art in the former Republic of Yugoslavia. Allison's prints are included in major museum and private collections throughout the world, including the U.S., Europe, and Asia.