Most of what we get asked is practical: what happens on a press day, whether you need to book, how the proof rack works, and what a walkthrough actually covers. Here are the answers we give most often, written plainly so you can plan around them.
No. The gallery is open to walk in during exhibition hours, and the captions beside each work name the artist and the medium. Booking matters only for a studio walkthrough or an open press day, because those run to a schedule and the press area has limited standing room.
You watch an edition being pulled on the 1970s American platen press, from inking the block or screen through to the sheet coming off. It is a working session, not a demonstration set up for an audience, so the pace depends on the run. Expect to stand near the press and to ask questions as they come up.
The rack at the entrance holds unframed artist proofs, the sheets pulled outside the numbered run. They come from the same blocks and screens, but may carry a lighter inking or a pencil note in the margin. Because they are unframed and unnumbered, they are the simplest way to take a first print home.
Yes, within reason. The room is used for book launches and portfolio reviews between exhibitions, and it stays quiet by design. Tell us the size of the group and the kind of event when you get in touch, and we will say honestly whether the space and the calendar can carry it.
Wear something you do not mind getting near ink, and leave large bags at the door. The studio floor is uneven in places and the press area is tight, so tell us in advance if anyone in your group needs step-free access. A walkthrough usually runs through the current show first, then the working side of the building.
Works on the walls and the proofs on the rack are available, and the caption beside each piece tells you the medium and the artist. Ask a member of the studio if you want to know more about a specific sheet. We do not quote edition sizes or resale value, and we would rather talk about the print than the market.
If your question is not here, the studio answers it directly by phone on +27 86 832 8313 or by email at hello@israelseniors.com. You can also read more background in our studio resources or send a note through the contact page.
A few terms come up often enough at the door and in email that they are worth setting straight. None of this is a rulebook for looking at the work. It is just the plain version, so nobody leaves with the wrong idea about what is on the walls or what happens in the studio behind them.
Proofs are pulled from the same blocks and screens as the numbered run, usually to check colour, inking or registration before the edition is finalised. They may carry a lighter impression, a small shift, or a pencil note in the margin. They are not damaged goods and they are not a different image. They simply sit outside the numbered set, which is why the rack by the entrance holds them unframed.
Work pulled on the 1970s platen press is registered by eye and by corner marks. Sheets in the same run can differ slightly in pressure and ink lay. That is the nature of hand-pulled printing, not a fault to be corrected. If you are comparing two sheets from one edition, expect them to read a little differently rather than identically.
Painters and printmakers here share the space and its costs, so the room you walk through is also where the work is made. On open press days you can watch a run being pulled; on other days the press may be idle or mid-setup. What is on view changes with the exhibition schedule, and the studio does not keep a permanent display of everything it has made.
We do not describe works as an investment, and we do not quote edition sizes as a measure of rarity or future value. Media are named as they are: oil, linocut, screenprint, mixed media on paper. Captions beside each work list the artist and the medium, hand-set and kept short. If something is unclear, ask at the desk rather than assume.
If you want to know whether a specific work is still on the wall, what a proof differs by, or whether the space is free for a book launch or portfolio review, the studio answers those directly. Write to hello@israelseniors.com or call +27 86 832 8313. The gallery is at The Firs, 32 Seventh Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa.
No form on this page. If you want to ask about a work, a print in the rack, or a walkthrough, use the details below and someone from the shared studio will pick it up.
The gallery and print studio share one building, so the same contacts cover exhibition questions, press day visits and hire enquiries for book launches or portfolio reviews.
The Firs, 32 Seventh Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa
Ask about a specific medium, an artist on the walls, or a sheet from the proof rack by the entrance. Mention the work if you can, so the right person answers.
For open press days or a studio walkthrough, write to the email above with the date you have in mind and how many people are coming.
The room is used for book launches and portfolio reviews between shows. Send the nature of the event and a rough date, and the studio will reply.
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