M.C. Escher® : A Mini-Retrospective

October 11 – November 19, 2021
Curated by Lorraine Walsh
The Simons Center Gallery

To view the M.C. Escher: A Mini-Retrospective Catalog, please click here.

Relativity, 1953. Lithograph, 10 7/8 x 11 ½ inches Collection of ROCK J. WALKER / WALKER FINE ART , LTD. All M.C. Escher’s Works and Text © The M.C. Escher Company, Baarn, The Netherlands. All Rights Reserved. M.C. Escher ® is a Registered Trademark

The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics (SCGP) is honored to present 70 works by the world-renowned Dutch artist Maurits Cornelis Escher (1898-1972). The art will be on view at the Simons Center Gallery from October 11 through November 19, 2021.

M.C. Escher crafted an extraordinary graphical language inspired by mathematics, puzzles, and patterns. His art explores mathematical operations and ideas expressed in infinity, symmetry, geometry, tessellated surfaces, improbable architectural perspectives, and more.

In addition to featuring Escher’s iconic prints such as Relativity, the Simons Center Gallery shall host some of his lesser-known early work focusing on nature and landscape, many of which bear the harbinger of mathematical forms and morphing shapes seen in later work.

Escher was a consummate printmaker; a master craftsperson. He used three different, albeit related, print techniques: 1) relief printing: woodcut, linocut and wood engraving, 2) intaglio printing: etching and mezzotint, and 3) planographic printmaking: lithograph. All three print methods utilized by Escher are showcased at the Simons Center Gallery.

According to most accounts, Escher made his first print when he was seventeen years old, and his last when he was seventy-one. During his lifetime, Escher created 448 prints and more than 2000 drawings and sketches, including watercolors.
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The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is a research center devoted to furthering fundamental knowledge in geometry and in theoretical physics, especially knowledge at the interface of these two disciplines. As part of the SCGP’s 10th anniversary, the Center is delighted to host this special exhibition. Originally scheduled for 2020, the exhibit will open fall, 2021.

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