Gemini

Throughout this image, thin green lines appear in pairs and create wider serpentine bands that intersect and overlap. To achieve the paired contours, Stanley William Hayter developed an experimental method: He used a plastic tape on the plate to assist cutting into the surface. Hayter thought deeply about the possibilities for line in intaglio printing—a type of printmaking where incisions are made into a plate to hold ink. This work is a striking example. A pioneering printmaker, Hayter demonstrated the medium’s capacity for abstraction to countless artists in Europe and the United States during the mid-20th century.