Author Description

Ken Tyler, of Tyler Grahpics Ltd., is considered by many to be the most accomplished master printer in contemporary American art. He is something of an institution for the past 37 years. Working with such art world legends as Frank Stella, David Hockney and the late Roy Lichtenstein, Tyler made a point of creating editions that were technically challenging, time-consuming and extremely labor-intensive to produce. The artists loved him for his determination to favor artistry over cost analysis. But like over-budgeted Hollywood movies, Tyler's prints often required box office home-runs to justify their existence. Tyler sold his separate archive collections for millions to at least three different institutions, including the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis and the National Gallery of Australia. Tyler's contribution to printmaking has been nothing short of remarkable. He joined June Wayne's now famous fledgling Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles in 1963, became technical director in 1964 and stayed until 1965 when he established his own atelier, which he named Gemini Ltd. In 1966 that company was joined with Gemini G.E L. (Graphics Editions Limited), which was founded by Tyler, Sidney Felson and Stanley Grinstein. In February 1974 he moved to Bedford Village, N.Y., and within a few years his workshop was a veritable who's who of the art world. Over the years Tyler has worked with everyone from Josef and Anni Albers to David Salle, from Helen Frankenthaler to Claes Oldenburg, from Joan Mitchell to Masami Teraoka. His technical genius enabled artists to push the medium of contemporary printmaking to a new level.