Lucas Weschke makes bold block prints, usually depicting people or animals in a landscape or setting. His pictures are characterised by simple lines, blocked shapes and flat colours, imparting an abstract quality and suggesting a less tangible landscape. He was born in Redruth in 1958 and grew up in West Penwith, living first at Zennor and then at Cape Cornwall. From the artists working in the region at that time, he came to appreciate the strength of an authentic personal statement made by visual means. He left Cornwall in 1977 to study Modern Languages at Bristol Polytechnic. He has lived and worked in Dorset since 1996.
“I believe that art at its inception is essentially intuitive. This intuition is reinforced by a cognitive process, but this does not mean that it ever becomes a matter of logic. For me, a picture is essentially a means of self-expression rather than a description or narrative, and often involves allegory. Printmaking is quite a long process with a number of stages, and this becomes a time of distillation, when I work on the drawing and then the carving until I am satisfied that the lines are right and that anything superfluous has been taken out. Despite its ultimate simplicity, I think that the picture somehow retains a resonance of all its component parts. It seems to me that art of any kind is about trying to find a way to live with yourself. This is not to overstate its significance, but merely what it means to me, I am not very comfortable talking about my pictures. I like to imagine that other people will form their own connections with them, and that I am not necessarily involved in that relationship.”
An ‘original print’ is an individual artwork that is produced manually by the artist (unlike a reproduction print, which is a copy of an original artwork). These original prints are pulled by hand from carved lino blocks (linocuts). Each print from the same block is unique due to the natural variations in the process. A limited number of prints are pulled from a block, forming a limited edition. Each print is numbered and the block is then destroyed.
Selected exhibitions:
2006 Pierrepoint Gallery, Bridport, Art on Paper (group exhibition)
2007 Dorset County Hospital (solo exhibition)
2008 Dorchester Arts Centre, Open08 (prizewinner)
2009 Bridport Arts Centre (group exhibition)
2010 Poundbury Gardens, Rodwell Artists (group exhibition)
2011 Brewers Quay Workshops (solo exhibition)
2011 Royal West of England Academy, 159th Open
2012 Dorchester Arts Centre (solo exhibition)
2012 Royal West of England Academy, 160th Open
2013 Bridport Arts Centre (solo exhibition)
2013 Royal West of England Academy, 161st Open
2014 b-side festival, Portland
2014 Atkinson Gallery, Street, Evolver prizewinners
2015 Jackson’s Gallery, Portland (joint exhibition)
2016 The Secret Art Sale, Bridport Arts Centre
2017 Fifty Dorset Makers: a book and supporting exhibition
2017 Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton, Evolver Prizewinners
2018 Walford Mill, Wimborne, PRINT (group exhibition)
2019 Furleigh Estate, Bridport, Fifty Dorset Makers
2019 Thelma Hulbert Gallery, Honiton, Evolver Prizewinners