Concentric Bearings, A
started 1983, published 1984
Image not available — this artwork is under copyright
View on museum website →Medium
drypoint, aquatint, and photogravure on Rives BFK wove paper
Dimensions
plate (left): 20.64 × 13.65 cm (8 1/8 × 5 3/8 in.) plate (right): 24.13 × 17.78 cm (9 1/2 × 7 in.) sheet: 60.9 × 47.31 cm (24 × 18 5/8 in.)
Classification
Department
CG-W
Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Credit
Gift of Gemini G.E.L. and the Artist, in Honor of the 50th Anniversary of the National Gallery of Art
Accession Number
1990.71.2
Art Historical Context
Vija Celmins, a Latvian-born American artist, is celebrated for her photorealistic drawings, paintings, and prints that capture the intricate details of the natural world with remarkable precision. Concentric Bearings, A, begun in 1983 and published in 1984, reflects her distinctive approach during a productive period of printmaking, where she translated her observational intensity into graphic media. The work combines drypoint, aquatint, and photogravure on Rives BFK wove paper, blending photographic transfer with traditional intaglio methods. Photogravure provides exacting imagery, while dr...
About the Artist
Vija Celmins
Vija Celmins, born on October 25, 1938, in Riga, Latvia, endured a tumultuous early life marked by World War II displacement. Her family fled Soviet occupation, living in German refugee camps before immigrating to the United States in 1948 via sponsorship from a Lutheran church. Settling in Indianapolis, Indiana, where her father worked as a carpenter and her mother in a hospital laundry, young Vi...