Relief printing

Relief printing

Relief is a sculptural technique where carved elements are connected to a solid background of the same material, from the Latin ‘relevo’ (to raise).

Relief art is an ancient form of artistic expression where designs or sculptures are carved into a background, making them protrude from a flat surface. It has a long history, employed by various cultures from early Egyptians to Ancient Romans, Greeks, and contemporary artists for embellishing structures, signages, and aesthetic appreciation. Coins are a prominent example of relief art. The defining feature of relief art is its three-dimensional quality on a two-dimensional background, rendering it non-freestanding, with no alternate side view possible.


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Parra's studio, with Parra at the centre, his back to the camera as he works on the large painting takes centre stage, showing a faceless blue woman in a striped dress, painted in red, purple, blue and teal. The studio is full of brightly coloured paints, with a large window on the right and a patterned rug across the floor under the painting.