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“Flora's work features great modernist design and eye-catchingly expressive cartoon characters, and neither loses out to the other.” — |
QUARTET SAN FRANCISCO: NEW CD FEATURES FLORA PAINTING ON COVERposted: September 16, 2007
The Flora album cover tradition continues in the 21st Century. A new CD, Whirled Chamber Music, by jazz violinist Jeremy Cohen's Quartet San Francisco, features details from an uncirculated 1967 Jim Flora painting entitled "Barberinni."
63RD STREET FINE ART PRINTS LIMITED EDITION NOW AVAILABLEposted: September 16, 2007
Jim Flora Art LLC is offering limited edition fine art prints of this colorful, bizarre 1951 Flora painting. The edition of ten, meticulously color-matched to the original, was produced by Flora archivist Barbara Economon. Only a handful of prints remain.
RARE 1940S FLORA WOODCUT AUCTIONED ON EBAYposted: May 15, 2007 / updated: June 1, 2007
An archival 16" x 9" handmade relief print of an early Jim Flora woodcut was auctioned on eBay. The work, featuring black ink on off-white paper, is untitled, unsigned, and undated, but reflects Flora's early '40s visual technique. Bidding closed on May 25, with a top bid of $415. Six more black-on-white and two hand-colored versions of this print remain in the Flora archives, but this is the only one that will be offered by Jim Flora Art LLC for now. Unlike dozens of vintage Flora prints for which original blocks cannot be found, the block for this print is in the Flora family archive. However, because of a split in the aged wood, the block might not be serviceable for further prints. We expect to test the block at Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress later this year, to determine if it will withstand a new limited numbered edition.
MAMBO FOR CATS NUMBERED SILK-SCREEN EDITIONSposted: March 15, 2007
NOW AVAILABLE: Limited-edition silk screen prints of the renowned Jim Flora 1955 Mambo for Cats RCA Victor album cover. Professionally produced in an edition of 200, the prints were created from a digital restoration of a vintage printer's proof. They measure 20" x 20" and use acrylic screen printing inks meticulously matched to Flora's original colors on archival 100-pound off-white cover stock. Each print is numbered on the front and authenticated on the reverse with stamped seals.
JIM FLORA BLOG FEATURES RARE WORKSposted: February 26, 2007
Glimpses of artful artifacts from the archives are posted regularly at the Jim Flora blog. Bug-eyed beboppers, curiously colored critters, and off-kilter streetscapes abound.
JIM FLORA EARLY WOODUCTSposted: January 22, 2007
In November 2006, over a dozen Jim Flora woodcuts and copper engravings were discovered in his son Joel's attic. The blocks and plates, which date from 1940 to 1960, are in terrific shape, and include several works for which prints had not previously been found. In December, Flora biographer Irwin Chusid brought several of the historic relics to Yee-Haw Industrial Letterpress, in Knoxville TN, where printmakers produced several dozen archival-quality "trial proofs" in a variety of colors. Plans are underway to produce numbered editions of the woodcuts and plates. Snapshots of the discovered works and the printmaking process can be viewed at the above link.
JIM FLORA SKETCHBOOKSposted: January 22, 2007
The Flora archive contains dozens of the artist's sketchbooks, from the 1930s to the '90s. They comprise a mindblowing museum of raw ideas and -- in some cases -- fully realized works. Along with thousands of pen and pencil sketches, the pages contain early drafts of Flora's album covers, rough drawings of paintings, and outlines of children's books. (Samples at the above link.)
