Avant Guides are written to demystify art, editions and collecting.
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Why do artists make editions?
An edition is a set of repeated artworks. Prints, sculptures, collectibles or non-fungible tokens, for example. Though made together, the artworks in an edition are not necessarily identical. Varation can arise from process, material or artistic intervention. This, paired with the artist's involvement and traceable authentication, is what sets an edition apart from a simple reproduction.
For artists, editions present the opportunity to take their practice in new directions, offer more people a chance to collect their work and to underpin sales of their original artworks with a more consistent source of income.
An installation became an edition when Yayoi Kusama began selling mirrored balls from her Narcissus Garden at the 1966 Venice Bienalle
A lithograph by Robert Rauschenberg created for the Met Museum's 100th anniversary in 1970 – from an edition of 4,569
Printmaking has played a part in visual culture for hundreds, if not thousands, of years. In 1960s New York, artists situated repetition and reproduction at the core of their work, turning to industrial processes and mass-manufactured objects. Andy Warhol made soup cans and celebrity silkscreens in his shimmering chrome studio. Robert Rauschenberg lifted text from newspapers and photos from glossy magazines. Yayoi Kusama sold mirrored plastic balls for $2 a piece until the 1966 Venice Bienalle expelled her for doing so.
Today, edition making continues to offer fertile ground for exploration. Many of the artists we collaborate with cite the influence of these experiments – from happy accidents to obsessive iteration – on the work they make next.
Why does Avant Arte make editions?
Because an edition contains multiple artworks, there is more art to collect. As a result, the art tends to be more affordable. Nonetheless, its limited nature appeals to collectors by underscoring its rarity and provenance in years to come.
We believe editions hold the key to our ambition to make collecting art radically more accessible. We also love helping artists try new things, or make things they've always wanted to. Many of our editions tread uncharted territory for the artists who create them.
Available for 24 hours only, a time-limited edition of signed silkscreen prints by Ai Weiwei offered 1,285 people the opportunity to collect his work.
Much like art itself, editions aren't limited to conventional materials. In support of the NYC AIDS memorial, Jenny Holzer filled 25 glass pharmacy jars with slogan-baring condoms.
How many artworks are there?
Edition size lets you know how many artworks can exist. The 'limited' in limited edition means that no more than this number of artworks will be made. For the majority of editions, this limit is set before the artwork goes on sale. For a time-limited edition, edition size will be based on the number of collectors who buy the edition during its window of availability. An open edition, by contrast, imposes no limit on the size of the edition.
An edition of 8 in marble and bronze by Joakim Ojanen
Generally, each artwork will have an edition number, expressed as a fraction, to signal its position within the edition. Some collectors prefer the edition number to be low, while some try and collect their lucky number. Many don't mind at all.
Knowing the edition size gives you a sense of your artwork's rarity and, in the case of limited editions, confidence that its value won't be undermined in the future.
Where does the price come from?
Much like an original, the price of an edition is largely dictated by the demand for artworks by the artist who created it. As ever, bigger and more complicated works will command a higher price.
However, when making an edition several new factors come into play. Larger editions are generally priced lower. The medium (what the artwork is made from) and associated production costs will also be considered.
What about hand-finishing?
In some cases, artists will add unique details to their editions by hand. Objectives vary. For Scott Kahn, hand-finishing allowed him to recreate the texture and depth of his oil paintings. Gisela McDaniel used personal artefacts – shells, beads and trinkets – to imbue her self portraits with meaning. Guimi You added celestial bodies in 25 different configurations to the sky of her Californian seascape.
When each artwork is totally unique, we move beyond the scope of an edition. Art can be difficult to categorise and in some cases distinctions are blurred. Don't be perturbed. It's part of the fun.
Gisela McDaniel finishing an edition of self portraits using acrylic paint, shells and beads
Scott Kahn finishing one of his prints, leaf by leaf, in oil paint
Proof of what?
You'll likely hear or see the word proof in the context of art editions. This refers to test prints or extras that fall outside of the stated edition size. Early proofs will often differ from the final artwork, but may be retained for archival purposes.
An artist's proof (AP) or printer's proof (PP) matches the final artwork and will be kept by the artist or printmaker, respectively. Artist's proofs are not usually sold. More often, they are archived or gifted. The number of APs tends to be limited to 10% of the edition size, which makes them covetable on rare occasions when they are available to buy – and encourages us to befriend artists.
How are editions authenticated?
From stamps and signatures to certificates and NFTs, there are many ways that an edition can be authenticated. All of them help to verify an artwork's provenance. Most Avant Arte editions will include at least two modes of authentication. For example, a print is often signed by its artist and accompanied by a separate certificate of authenticity (COA).
Ultimately, the quality and complexity of editions should make them difficult to fake, but a little peace of mind never hurts.
Angel Otero signs prints from his edition Broken Record
What does the future hold for a limited edition artwork?
At times overlooked or misunderstood, editions can be as much part of an artist's legacy as their originals. Found not only in homes, but in the permanent collections of institutions around the world and – more recently – on the blockchain, limited edition artworks have an ever-growing breadth and impact. If you'd like to start or grow a collection, you're in the right place. Take a look.
62 years after he painted the original, a limited edition print based on Actual Size by Ed Ruscha reinvigorated the seminal painting for a new generation of collectors.
Questions about editions or collecting?
Email us on collecting@avantarte.com.
Glossary
Edition · A set of identical or near-identical artworks in any medium.
Original · In the context of art, 'original' refers to a unique, one-of-a-kind artwork.
Reproduction · An umbrella term for any recreation of an original artwork. Unlike an edition, there is no need for an artist or their estate to be involved.
Edition size · The number of individual artworks that make up an edition.
Edition number · Unique to each artwork, denoting its position within the edition it belongs to.
Time-limited edition · In this case, edition size will be based on the number of people who order an artwork during a preset window of time. After this window closes, the edition size will be set and production will begin.
Open edition · An edition with no set size, meaning that more artworks can be produced at the artist's discretion.
Hand-finishing · Details added to some or all of the artworks from an edition, one by one – making each them unique and increasing their value.
Proof · A version of an editioned artwork that is not part of the final edition. This can include both prototypes, and additional copies of the final artwork.
Artist's proof (AP) · A proof of the final artwork generally kept by the artist for archival purposes. In most cases the number of APs will not exceed 10% of the edition size.
Printer's proof (PP) · A proof of the final artwork kept by the printer or producer who created it for archival purposes.
Certificate of authenticity (COA) · An official document that accompanies an editioned artwork and verifies its provenance – usually stamped and/or signed by the artist.
