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The Wave 10
9 x 6 3/4 in
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JOHN DIGBY: ARCHIVAL COLLAGE
Collage Process:
John Digby specializes in black and white collage. Unlike traditional collage composed of layered surfaces, his complex abstractions are composed of inlaid paper fragments that present a unified surface. His themes take inspiration from grace and harmony in nature, from the movement of planets and waves, to the complexity of the garden hedge, the seaweed forest, the microscope slide. From the beautiful to the sublime he finds elegant poetic structures.
Digby’s collage papers are themselves rich with textural imagery that he creates by paste and ink drawing as well as various techniques of abrading. Drawing with a scalpel, he shapes his composition. By the time he has cut and inlaid the many fragments that compose a collage, the papers are several layers thick and backed onto archival, long-fibered mulberry paper, producing a sturdy image that can be mounted in bas-relief.
All of his materials are pH neutral and archival
Born: London, England 1938
Educated, Great Britain
Fellow, Zoological Society of London
Select One-Man Exhibitions of Collage:
“Spirit of the Pinnacles,” Daegu, Korea 2006
“A Rainbow of Butterflies,” Craven Gallery, Martha’s Vineyard, MA 2005
“Recent Collages,” Pavel Zoubok Gallery, New York, 2005
“The Moon as Text,” Hammond Museum, August-October, 2004
“Collages and Drawings: A Personal History,” Alpan Gallery, Huntington, NY 2003
“Fish and Ships,” Saison Poetry Library, Royal Festival Hall, 2003
“Homage to the Fallen,” Russian-American Cultural Center, New York 2002
“Water Voyages,” United States Merchant Marine Museum,” Kings Point, NY and Calvert Marine Museum, Solomons, MD, 2002
“Archival Collage,” Europa, Brooklyn, New York 2002
“Natural Histories,” Lenz Gallery, Slippery Rock PA 2002
"Targets for the Millennium," exhibition and choreography, Tillis Center, LIU, 1999
"The Arches," Saint David's Hall, Cardiff, Wales, UK, 1999
Jain-Marunouchi Gallery, New York, 1999
Coincidence Gallery, Richmond, Virginia, 1999
HarperCollins Publishers, New York 1997
Byuk A Gallery, Taegu, Korea, 1995
Royal Festival Hall, Saison Poetry Library, London, 1995
Suzuki Gallery, New York, 1995, 1992, 1990, 1988, 1986
Capricorn Gallery, Bethesda MD, 1989, 1987, 1985, 1983, 1980
Forum Gallery, New York, 1987
Andrew Crispo Gallery, New York, 1985
Caravan House Galleries, New York, 1980
The Francis Kyle Gallery, London, 1984, 1980
The National Poetry Society of Great Britain, London, 1979
The Thumb Gallery, London, 1978
The Image and the Myth Gallery, Santa Monica CA, 1976
Collections:
Musée Rimbaud, Charleville-Mézières, France
Special Collections, University of Delaware
Love Library, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
Heckscher Museum, Huntington NY
Butler Museum of American Art, Youngstown OH
The Phil Desind Collection, Bethesda MD
Arkansas Museum of Fine Art, Little Rock AK
Guild Hall Museum, East Hampton NY
The Grolier Club NY
Housatonic Museum, Housatonic CT
Published Books:
Founder: Feral Press—a private, small press dedicated to limited edition publication of unique poetry and prose illustrated in black and white. Caligula Books, London. circa 1970
Archival Collage [monograph]. Oyster Bay: The Ragged Edge Press, 1998.
Fluttering with an Attempt to Fly. Oyster Bay: Ragged Edge Press, 1994.
From Dark to Light: The Wood Engravings of John de Pol. Roslyn: The Stone House Pr., 1989.
Inspired by Drink. New York: William Morrow, 1987 (co-editor, illustrator and story writer)
Food for Thought. New York: William Morrow, 1987 (co-editor and illustrator)
Incantations. Roslyn: The Stone House Press, 1987.
Miss Liberty. New York: Thames and Hudson, 1986.
The Collage Handbook. London: Thames and Hudson, 1985 (co-author).
To Amuse a Shrinking Sun. London: Anvil Press Poetry, 1985.
Permutations. New York: William Morrow, 1985 (illustrator).
Sailing Away from Night. London and Santa Cruz: Anvil Press Poetry and Kayak Books, 1978.
The Structure of Bifocal Distance. London: Anvil Press Poetry, 1974.