Bianco su bianco by Matisse Mesnil

Bianco su Bianco (2025) by Matisse Mesnil is a relief print on Zuber Rieder paper (500 g/m²), produced from a welded iron matrix.
The work stands at the intersection of the artist’s metalwork practice and fine art printmaking: a matrix developed through welding and typically associated with three-dimensional space is transferred onto the sheet through embossing, translating the solidity of metal into an impressed mark.

As the artist states, “metal is an aggressive material; the idea of making a flower creates a contradiction, a passage.” The floral subject emerges solely through relief, without the use of color, relying on the interplay of light, shadow, and surface. In contrast to the dark tones and compact materiality of Mesnil’s metal works, Bianco su Bianco foregrounds the delicacy and smoothness of the untouched white sheet. “This work is the negative of something hard”: the force of welding is reversed into an imprint, generating a formal tension between hardness and tactile sensitivity.

Relief print (embossing) on Zuber Rieder paper, 500 g/m²
Matrix: 49.5 × 63.5 cm
Sheet: 60 × 80 cm
Editions of 11
2025