Artwork of the Week: July 14
This print entitled Solleone was created by artist Rudy Pozzatti in 1998. Most well-known for his roles as an educator and printmaker, Pozzatti shows his expertise by using several printmaking methods in this piece. He layers lithography, woodcut, etching, and engraving to achieve a colorful and textured depiction of summer. In fact, the title refers to the Italian phrase for the hottest days of the summer. The first half of the word, sol, means the sun, and the latter half, leone, translates as lion. The combination of the two portions of the word describes the roaring heat of the summer. That intense heat is emphasized by the fiery orange at the top of the print, while a knot of wood cleverly imitates the sun beating down on the mountains below. The bands on the lower portion of the print explore the daily and seasonal changes of light upon a mountainous landscape.
Solleone was gifted to the museum by artist and printmaker Wayne Kimball. Kimball is a world-renowned printmaker, specializing in lithography, who taught for 25 years in BYU’s Visual Arts program. Kimball and Pozzatti were both featured in several of the same printmaking shows throughout their careers.
