In the early 1950s, Wifredo Lam worked at Atelier 17, the experimental printmaking workshop led by Stanley William Hayter, where he further developed his technical mastery of intaglio techniques. His prints from this period reflect a stylistic transition: from his earlier hybrid mythic figures to more abstract forms—fragmented anatomies, geometric shapes, and stylized botanical motifs—that echoed the evolving language of postwar modernism.
Atelier 17 encouraged Lam to experiment freely, blending surrealist sensibilities with gestural abstraction and schematic symbolism. This experimental ethos would later influence his increasingly innovative graphic work throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Lam’s printmaking matured further through collaborations with printers like Giorgio Upiglio at Grafica Uno in Milan, where he developed unique techniques to preserve the fluidity of his linework in etching. He incorporated methods such as drawing into bitumen powder on copper plates and utilizing heated surfaces to fix designs—approaches that gave his prints a lyrical, ethereal quality.
These innovations culminated in major suites like Apostroph’ Apocalypse (1967), Visible, Invisible (1971), and Annonciation (1982), the latter featuring poems by his close friend Aimé Césaire. Through these works, Lam synthesized decades of iconography—figures drawn from Afro-Cuban cosmology, surrealist dreamscapes, and personal memory—into haunting, visionary compositions.
In his later years, Lam increasingly prioritized printmaking over painting, drawn to its intimacy, technical complexity, and poetic possibilities. His time at Atelier 17 laid the foundation for this evolution, shaping a graphic legacy that stands alongside his contributions to modern painting as one of the most original voices of the 20th century.
Atelier 17 encouraged Lam to experiment freely, blending surrealist sensibilities with gestural abstraction and schematic symbolism. This experimental ethos would later influence his increasingly innovative graphic work throughout the 1960s and 1970s.
Lam’s printmaking matured further through collaborations with printers like Giorgio Upiglio at Grafica Uno in Milan, where he developed unique techniques to preserve the fluidity of his linework in etching. He incorporated methods such as drawing into bitumen powder on copper plates and utilizing heated surfaces to fix designs—approaches that gave his prints a lyrical, ethereal quality.
These innovations culminated in major suites like Apostroph’ Apocalypse (1967), Visible, Invisible (1971), and Annonciation (1982), the latter featuring poems by his close friend Aimé Césaire. Through these works, Lam synthesized decades of iconography—figures drawn from Afro-Cuban cosmology, surrealist dreamscapes, and personal memory—into haunting, visionary compositions.
In his later years, Lam increasingly prioritized printmaking over painting, drawn to its intimacy, technical complexity, and poetic possibilities. His time at Atelier 17 laid the foundation for this evolution, shaping a graphic legacy that stands alongside his contributions to modern painting as one of the most original voices of the 20th century.
