A monotype is a form of printmaking which, put simply, utilizes oil based inks pressed into wet paper. These are more permanent and archival than your typical drawings with which the medium stays on the surface of the sheet. As the name suggests, monotypes are one of a kind and irreproducible. An image is created on glass and then printed in the fiber of paper.
Anyone who has attempted this craft knows that it is far more difficult than it sounds. Randall Lagro, having established his own private printing studio has afforded himself the time to truly push this art form. The result is the most subtle of details, the ability for Lagro to transfer his intuitive approach with painting to the ink, the addition of color to this traditionally black and white art form, and the creative illusion of layers unseen in other modern monotypes.
The detail in Lagro’s monotypes is so fine that standard photography does it no justice. These museum quality prints must be viewed in person to be completely appreciated. Please stop in or arrange an appointment with the Mary Martin Gallery of Fine Art to view our collection of over 30 framed and unframed monotypes available from the Randall Lagro collection.
Entering LaGro’s studio Entering Randall LaGro’s studio is an experience in itself. On a hill in Taos, NM and up a gravel drive, the adobe dwelling was the studio of Joseph Sharp. It is fitting that it is the studio of Randall LaGro. He has collected hundreds of items from antique shops and estate sales far and near each bringing some type of story of its life and inspiration for the artist. The two story studio with a north wall of windows is covered with paintings in progress, books, paints, brushes and antique objects and other materials.
Randall LaGro is endowed with an unusual talent where his works are often equal parts of the conscious and subconscious world. Randall somehow reaches into the soul of humanity and is able to paint every dream you have ever had, every experience you have shared. He is a poet. He is an artist. He is the common man. He is an artist. He is a philosopher. He is the noble thought within us. The power of his work lies within his heart and mind and transfers to his work and then to the viewer.
Viewing LaGro monotypes is like stepping into the surface and finding yourself in another world and it could remind you of the adventures of Alice in Wonderland. It is a journey. These works are drawn from the subconscious of both the artist and the viewer. As your eyes cover the surface of the monotype you may find yourself looking to the left into one world and to the right into another one. Looking down you may see a river that runs through your life with you on board with your menagerie of memories. If you peer out the window you could be looking on early flight and the future. It is a multisensory process but all in your mind. You may see uncommon beauty of a woman next to the freedom of a window with a curtain blowing back showing a view into the subconscious of your mind. In another area you could see the dissipation of a potentate next to the most beautiful of gateways but leading where? You can find an exquisite face of a woman swathed in an exotic headdress rising from a ship and sailing through
a Venetian canal of centuries ago. Viewing his monotypes is like a trip through the centuries of man’s presence on the earth. The power of his monotypes can almost be felt physically.
One of his monotypes was entered in the prestigious 16th National Biennial of the Los Angeles Printmaking Society several years ago. From a field of fourteen hundred entries, only seventy-five works were chosen for the show. LaGro won an award for excellence in the medium."
