This is an etching and aquatint by the French printmaker Yannick Balif. It is an abstract, with color fields of red and orange separated by a black tangle. It is an etching and aquatint and very characteristic of the artist's style. It utilizes thick ink to create a surface the gives the image some depth.The print is in fair condition. It is a good, crisp impression that is well-inked. There is no fading or foxing. The print is mounted on thin cardboard. It is not glued down and should be able to be removed without damaging the print. There is mat burn around the edge of the piece from prior framing. It could be covered with a mat, but this is a fine enough work that careful paper conservation should be able to restore it to good condition. The price reflects the condition leaving room for conservation if so desired. A nice example of the artist's work.
Yannick Ballif (1927 - 2009) Yannick Ballif (or Balif as it is also spelled, in fact her signature varies between the two) is a French printmaker. She studied under groundbreaking printmaker Johnny Friedlander. While not a lot of biographical information is available, she is known to have taught at l'Ecole des Arts décoratifs de Paris in the 70s and 80s. Of interest, her given name is Mariannick Swinnen. While taking her husband’s surname, she phonetically contracted her first name to sign all her work.
The rich surface of her etchings captures the techniques that gives her etchings a three-dimensional nature. However, rather than emulating the stylized abstract style of Friedlander, Balif creates images that are evocative of the abstract expressionists with bold colors and gestural approaches to printmaking. Even though her works are very abstract, they are frequently representational with images of the shoreline being of particular note. She also incorporates geological features into her work. Her work is held in the Cabinet des Estamps of the Bibliotheque Nationale. While recognized as a extraordinary artist in her time, since her death she has slipped into relative obscurity. Fortunately, there is a good body of representative works that appear on the market at very affordable prices given the quality of the art.