A screenprint, also known as a silkscreen or serigraph, is an original print made by pushing ink through a fine mesh screen onto the paper below. Areas of the screen are blocked with a stencil so that ink passes through only where the image should appear. The terms screenprint and silkscreen describe the same technique; silkscreen is simply the older name, dating from when the mesh was made of silk.
Screenprinting is prized for its flat, vivid areas of colour and its crisp edges, qualities that made it central to Pop art and that continue to attract contemporary artists today.
A fine mesh screen is stretched tightly over a frame. A stencil is created on the screen, historically by hand, now usually using a light-sensitive emulsion, to block out the areas that should not print. Ink is then pulled across the screen with a rubber blade called a squeegee, forcing it through the open mesh and onto the paper beneath.
Each colour requires its own screen and its own pass, carefully registered so the layers align. A print with many colours may involve a dozen or more separate screens, built up one layer at a time.
Screenprinting produces uniquely flat, saturated, opaque colour, quite different from the tonal subtlety of etching or lithography. The technique excels at bold, graphic imagery with clean edges and intense, even colour fields.
It was this quality that drew Pop artists such as Andy Warhol and Eduardo Paolozzi to the medium in the 1960s. Today, screenprinting remains popular with contemporary artists who want strong colour, graphic clarity and the ability to layer translucent and opaque inks.
Original screenprints are produced in limited, signed and numbered editions. Each impression is hand-pulled, and slight variations between prints are part of the medium’s character. Look for a pencil signature, an edition number, and the rich, layered colour that distinguishes a genuine screenprint.
At Byard Art, our print collection includes original screenprints from contemporary artists, each authenticated and fully documented.
