Visiting Artist @ FOUGARO | Screen Printing
As part of its Visiting Artist programme, FOUGARO ARTCENTER welcomed visual artist Anna Koutsafti on October 23 for an introduction to the art of screen printing. Following this free introductory session with the artist, five further sessions will take place in FOUGARO’s new, purpose-designed workshop space — C1.
Across five sessions, participants will explore the history and diverse applications of the technique, with an emphasis on experimentation, collaboration and the creation of collective works.
During the seminar, participants will gradually become familiar with the screen printing process, from preparing the screen and producing their first monochrome print to two-colour printing, registering separate colour layers and applying the technique to different surfaces.
Alongside the practical work, we will explore the history of screen printing through examples of artists who have embraced it as an artistic medium.
From early Chinese stencils and the Japanese katazome textile-dyeing technique, which uses katagami paper stencils, to the French pochoir stencil-printing technique and the commercial use of screen printing for posters, labels and signage, we will trace its evolution from craft and small-scale production to contemporary artistic practice.
Particular emphasis will be placed on artists such as Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein and Robert Rauschenberg, as well as on examples that highlight the social and activist dimensions of screen printing, including the work of Sister Corita Kent and Keith Haring, and the Atelier Populaire, the collective poster-making workshop established at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris during the events of May 1968.
We will also explore repetition, pattern and colour through references to Bridget Riley and Marimekko’s iconic printed fabrics.
The seminar approaches screen printing not simply as a way of reproducing images, but as a tool for exploring the relationship between image, colour, repetition and collaboration. Starting with individual designs, we will gradually move towards collective creation, culminating in a shared work that brings together and builds on the designs of all participants.
With the collaboration of Giannis Charikleous.
Upon completion of the five-meeting programme, participants will receive a CERTIFICATE OF ATTENDANCE.
For adults (16+) | every Saturday | 4–8 pm | C1
Detailed Programme
Day 1 — 31/10
Monochrome Printing & Screen Preparation
We begin the practical work by preparing our first screen and developing a design for our first print.
Our first print will use a single colour, giving us the opportunity to explore the possibilities of monochrome. We will look at artists who have worked with limited colour palettes, including Andy Warhol, whose portraits and repeated images demonstrate how a restricted palette can create powerful visual effects, and Keith Haring, known for his bold, dynamic lines.
We will also examine the importance of positive and negative space, exploring how a single colour can create a strong, complete visual statement.
Day 2 — 7/11
First Prints & A Collective Zine
It is time to make our first prints.
We will experiment with different coloured papers and explore how the same image changes when printed in different colours and against different backgrounds.
Printing the same design in a range of colour variations echoes the approach used in Andy Warhol’s series, including his Marilyn Monroe prints, allowing us to see how colour can transform the mood and interpretation of an image.
At the same time, all participants will contribute to a small zine bringing together the group’s designs.
The zine will be the workshop’s first collective publication —a shared work that each participant can take home.
Day 3 — 14/11
Two-Colour Printing & Registration
We move from one colour to two.
We will learn the basic principles of two-colour printing and prepare a screen for an image made up of two colours, each requiring its own stencil.
The central concept of the session is registration: aligning the separate colour layers so that they come together to form a single image.
We will explore how artists have used two-colour printing and how intentional misregistration can become an artistic device rather than simply an error. A useful example is Gerhard Richter, who has deliberately used off-register printing to create visual effects that challenge the precision normally associated with the printing process.
Day 4 — 21/11
Printing on Different Surfaces
On the fifth day, we will produce our first two-colour print.
We will also broaden our understanding of screen printing by experimenting with different surfaces and materials, including wood and fabric.
We will experiment with printing on everyday items such as tea towels,T-shirts, tote bags and pillowcases, exploring how an image can be transferred from paper to textiles and other surfaces.
Working with fabric brings us back to the history of stencil-based textile printing, while also connecting us with contemporary pattern design and the distinctive printed fabrics of Marimekko.
Day 5 — 28/11
Collective Patterns & Large-Scale Printing
In the final session, we will bring our individual designs together.
We will experiment with ways of combining the group’s designs into a large, collective pattern. We will print one another’s designs, collaborate and bring different images together in a shared patchwork composition.
We will also explore the possibilities of printing on large surfaces and textiles, including tablecloths, sheets and curtains.
The use of repeating patterns connects us with textile traditions and Marimekko’s approach to print design, while the collaborative process echoes the spirit of community and shared creativity found in the work of Corita Kent.
The collective patchwork will be the final project of the workshop: a shared image that belongs to no single creator, but emerges from the collaboration, exchange and coexistence of the different designs created by the group.
Anna Koutsafti
Anna Koutsafti is a visual artist based in Glasgow. She studied Fine Art at the École Nationale Supérieure d’Art de Bourges and completed her MFA at the Glasgow School of Art, while in 2022 she received the EU Saltire Scholarship.
Her practice has been presented in exhibitions in France, Romania, the United Kingdom and Greece. Since 2023, she has been an editor of Ghost Press, an independent publishing initiative in Glasgow focusing on artists’ books and collaborations with emerging artists and writers.
She has participated in residencies at the Frans Masereel Centrum and Cove Park.
