Daniel Eatock
Preface Pen Print #22

Daniel Eatock
Preface Pen Print #22, 2016
Felt-tip pen on paper
29.7 × 21 cm
One-off original artwork

Mesmerising kaleidoscopes of colour that emerged from one simple idea. Specially commissioned for the release of Daniel Eatock: Pens Paper, these unique-state works are the result of Eatock’s pens paper practice. Each of the 25 original artworks are signed and numbered by the artist.

British artist and designer Daniel Eatock creates concept-driven pieces that explore the recording of actions. Over the past two decades, he has repurposed the conventional tools of graphic design—coloured felt-tip pens and white paper—to produce his most distinctive work.

Working compulsively in series, Eatock either rests inverted pens on stacks of paper or places paper on the nibs of upright pens, leaving time and chance to make their marks. Surprisingly, these straightforward, mechanical steps produce abstract, organic sequences that range from bright dots to bleeding pools of intense colour.

In a sense, this experimental work is self-producing. By devising set-ups that systematically make art, Eatock retains control over the execution, but relinquishes control of the outcome—faithfully observing his manifesto’s directives to “embrace chance” and “trust the process”. This action-based approach is also evident in his instruction of the participants who collaborated to create his circle drawings.