Abstract

Erwin Eisch (b1927 Germany) is an internationally respected artist, known for his painted glass sculptures and installations. He is also a painter, draughtsman and printmaker. The prints are less well known, but important because of the innovation of printing from glass plates, which Eisch greatly advanced in the 1980s. Eisch's 75 editions of prints offer a focused view of his central ideas of 'heaven, earth and all things in between' with personal, imaginative, historical and political references. This research allowed access to all of Eisch's prints, at the 'Eisch Foundation' in Germany. It has formally catalogued and visually recorded the prints, many for the first time, and importantly with details of Eisch's complex and witty imagery. Most crucially, it has recorded Eisch's own thoughts on his prints which have not been published to date. This provides focused insights, relevant to both the glass and print fields, into a lesser known aspect of this important artist's career. This is timely given Eisch's 85th birthday and the 50th year of the 'Studio
Glass' movement in 2012.