Every print and painting that leaves the studio passes through the same routine, whether it is a numbered linocut edition or a small oil on board from the back room. Nothing is rushed to fill a gap on the wall.
The steps below are what actually happens between a finished run and a work going home with someone. They are written down so that two people handling the same sheet reach the same conclusion.
Before a run starts, the printmakers settle the number of sheets, the paper, the ink and the order of colours. That decision is written on the studio sheet and stays fixed, so a later pull can be checked against it rather than against memory.
Sheets are laid out side by side under the same light and compared for registration, inking and edge quality. Anything that drifts is set apart as a proof instead of being folded into the numbered set.
Ground colour, date, paper and any pencil note in the margin go onto the reverse or the studio record. On mixed media work the printed layer and the drawn layer are logged separately, because the two are made weeks apart.
If a colour reads wrong once dry, or a board shows a flaw in the ground, the work is reworked or held back. Corrections are noted on the same record so the change is traceable rather than silent.
When a work is collected or shipped, the buyer gets the sheet or board, the studio record of what it is, and a plain account of any proof marking or correction. We describe condition and process as they are. We do not issue certificates, appraisals or guarantees of future value, and we do not claim accreditation we do not hold.
Between the six exhibitions we mount each year, the room keeps working. These are the recurring formats that visitors, printmakers and hirers actually walk into.
On these days the studio floor is open and the 1970s American platen press runs through a short edition. You watch the block get inked, the sheet placed by corner marks, and the print pulled by hand. The uneven surface that comes off a platen press is the point, not a flaw.
A rack of unframed artist proofs sits by the entrance. These are sheets pulled outside the numbered edition, often to check colour or registration before a run is finalised. Same blocks, same screens, sometimes a lighter inking or a pencil note in the margin.
A slower pass through the current show with someone who made or hung the work. We talk about the media on the walls, from oil on board to mixed media on paper, and what each artist was working through. Useful if you are choosing a piece or studying printmaking.
The room doubles as a hire venue for book launches and portfolio reviews. It keeps the raw industrial character it has during shows: exposed brick, whitewashed walls, warm afternoon light across the framed prints. You get the space and its atmosphere, not a conference setup.
Not sure which one fits? Write to hello@israelseniors.com or call +27 86 832 8313, and we will point you to the right format. The studio is at The Firs, 32 Seventh Avenue, Rosebank, Johannesburg, 2196, South Africa.
Nothing here is booked through a system. You write to the studio, we check the room and the press against the exhibition calendar, and you come in. The steps below are the same whether you want to see what is hanging, watch an edition being pulled, or use the space for a launch.
A walkthrough of the current show, an open press day, or a hire enquiry for a book launch or portfolio review. Mention the group size so we can plan floor space and seating.
The gallery mounts six exhibitions a year, so the walls change often. Press days sit between shows. We look at what is on and what the platen press is being used for that week.
We come back with a slot that fits both sides. If the day you asked for is taken by a hanging or a run of prints, we suggest the nearest alternative.
The entrance rack of unframed artist proofs is the first thing you pass. Sheets pulled outside the numbered edition, from the same blocks and screens, with a pencil note in the margin.
On a press day you watch an edition come off the 1970s American platen press, inking and registration done by hand. On a walkthrough we talk through the oil, linocut and mixed media work on the walls.
The proof rack is there for a first purchase that does not mean committing to a large canvas. If you are only looking, that is fine too. Nothing is expected of you at the door.
The room keeps its raw industrial character throughout: exposed brick, whitewashed walls, hand-set captions beside each work. If you want to read more about the editions before you come, the studio notes are collected under resources, and any question about a specific visit is best sent through the contact page.
Programs here are not courses or memberships. They are the recurring formats that keep the room working when no show is on the walls: press days, the proof rack, walkthroughs and quiet hire for launches and portfolio reviews.
On these days the 1970s American platen press runs for visitors. You watch a linocut or screenprint edition being pulled sheet by sheet, and you see how much the ink and pressure change the final surface. No booking pressure, no sales pitch.
Unframed artist proofs sit in a rack near the entrance. They come from the same blocks and screens as the editioned works, but carry a slight shift, a lighter inking or a pencil note in the margin. A straightforward way to buy a first print.
A walkthrough moves through the main room, the darkroom at the back and the drying racks. It is a chance to ask how a specific work was made, what paper it sits on, and why a run was kept small. Useful before you decide on a larger piece.
The room is used for book launches and portfolio reviews between shows. Exposed brick, whitewashed walls and hand-set captions stay in place, so the space keeps its character rather than turning into a blank event hall.
The gallery mounts six exhibitions a year, mostly mid-career South African artists working in oil, linocut, screenprint and mixed media on paper. Each show shapes what happens in the studio around it, from the editions pulled to the works left unframed.
A small group of painters and printmakers runs the space and splits the costs. That arrangement is why the formats stay modest and the proof rack stays stocked: the studio answers to the people working in it, not to a schedule imposed from outside.
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