'Camping I' - A limited edition silkscreen print by Sir Peter Blake from the boxed portfolio set 'The Venice Suite', signed and numbered by the artist. 'Camping I' is an...
'Camping I' - A limited edition silkscreen print by Sir Peter Blake from the boxed portfolio set 'The Venice Suite', signed and numbered by the artist.
'Camping I' is an incongruous composition; the artist contrasts the Rialto bridge with a group of African colonial explorers in the foreground and a giant yurt in the middle ground, and throwing in a glamourous figure from a nineteenth-century fashion illustration for good measure.
The Venice Suite was inspired by Blake's trip to Venice for the Biennale of 2007. Each piece in the portfolio is a jewel of his trademark collage style. Blake combines traditional images of the city on the lagoon with visual excerpts from vintage childrens' books, photographs, postcards, as well as details from works of the old masters. This visual witticism is teamed with a palette of turquoise, gold and the grey of the stones of Venice to create a surreal fairytale vision of the city. Blake juxtaposes the baroque grandeur of the architectural icons of Venice with giant penguins, wartime bombers, Edwardian rowers and icebergs to name a few. The end result is a portfolio of works that are playful, imaginative, beautiful, immensely varied and representative of Sir Peter Blake's unique vision.