LUIS COLAN - Monotypes

Book by Luis Colan titled “Monotypes” – 200 pages – 21x26.5 cm – Matte hardcover

Limited edition of 350 copies

Book available for pre-order – shipping begins in late July

THE NECESSITY OF CHANGE

Change has never come easily to me. As a creature of habit, I often approach new beginnings with hesitation—doubt and nerves accompanying each new project. Yet change is essential to growth. Eventually, you have to try something new to move forward, and for me, that shift came through monotype printing.
I first encountered monotype as a student at the Hartford Art School. Its immediacy appealed to me instantly. Of all printmaking techniques, it felt closest to painting—spontaneous, gestural, and direct. Although the experience stayed with me, it remained dormant for years. It wasn’t until a February evening in 2014, at my first Monotype Party at the Salmagundi Club, that the process truly took hold.
Working on a small zinc plate coated in black ink, I was introduced to the subtractive method—revealing light by removing ink rather than adding it. As I carved a moonlit landscape from the darkness, coaxing clouds and moonlight into being, the process felt revelatory. When the plate passed through the press and the image emerged, I knew I had found something lasting.

Luis Colan