Jonny Hannah – Ouvrez Les Fenêtres de Votre Coeur – Signed Limited-Edition Screenprint 26/50 – Cakes & Ale Press – 2011

Description

A particularly attractive original screenprint by Jonny Hannah, entitled Ouvrez Les Fenêtres de Votre Coeur, produced in 2011 through Hannah’s own Cakes & Ale Press.

The print measures 36 × 50.8 cm and was issued in a small edition of only 50 impressions. This example is number 26/50, individually signed and dated 2011 by Jonny Hannah in pencil beneath the image, with the Cakes & Ale Press imprint printed alongside.

The title translates as:

“Open the windows of your heart.”

Hannah constructs the phrase as a piece of exuberant hand-drawn typography arranged across a folded, zig-zagging banner. The words:

OUVREZ
LES
FENÊTRES
DE VOTRE
COEUR

are painted and printed in alternating rust-red and black script, while a pale-blue representation of the Eiffel Tower rises vertically through the centre of the composition.

The surrounding ground is worked in pale blue, ochre and rust-red marks, creating a dense, almost textile-like surface. The deliberately uneven outlines, overlapping colours and visible hand-worked texture are central to the image’s character.

Paris, May 1968 and the Title

The phrase “Ouvrez les fenêtres de votre coeur” has a particularly interesting cultural history.

It was recorded among the slogans appearing in Paris during May 1968, including at Censier, and is generally translated as “Open the windows of your heart.” Academic discussion of the graffiti and slogans of May ’68 notes the phrase among those expressing the period’s mixture of political, emotional and imaginative liberation.

The phrase was also incorporated by composer Luigi Nono into his 1969 political work Non consumiamo Marx, whose text drew upon slogans and wall writings associated with the events of May 1968.

The Eiffel Tower running through Hannah’s design makes the Parisian association especially appropriate.

Rather than approaching the phrase as straightforward political propaganda, Hannah gives it the character of an old poster, chanson lyric, hand-painted sign or fragment of romantic street poetry. The result combines the idealism of the original slogan with his characteristic affection for vernacular typography and popular graphic culture.

Typography and Composition

Lettering is the dominant subject of the print.

The title unfolds down the page almost architecturally, with each line occupying a different section of the folded form. The Eiffel Tower provides a vertical axis behind the words, while the repeated rust-red marks around the perimeter give the composition a sense of movement and visual noise.

The irregular hand-drawn letters are fundamental to Hannah’s style. They avoid the mechanical perfection of commercial type in favour of something closer to sign painting, handmade posters and old printed ephemera.

The colour palette is unusually subtle for Hannah: powder blue, salmon-pink, rust-red, ochre, cream and black, producing a warm, faded quality reminiscent of vintage continental advertising or mid-century printed ephemera.

Cakes & Ale Press

The work was issued through Hannah’s Cakes & Ale Press, his own imprint for limited-edition prints, books, posters and artist-published ephemera.

The printed Cakes & Ale Press name appears beneath the image beside the pencil signature, date and edition number.

This direct relationship with Hannah’s independent printmaking practice is an important feature of the work and distinguishes it from later reproduction posters.

Edition

This example is:

26/50

from an edition of only 50 impressions.

The small edition, original pencil signature and date, substantial format and particularly strong combination of typography and Parisian imagery give the work considerable collector appeal.

Artist

Jonny Hannah is a British illustrator, painter and printmaker whose visual language combines hand lettering, folk art, popular music, old commercial graphics, vintage ephemera and imaginary places.

His work frequently elevates fragments of ordinary visual culture — signs, slogans, song titles, packaging and advertisements — into independent artworks.

Ouvrez Les Fenêtres de Votre Coeur is particularly representative of this approach: a historically charged phrase is transformed into a highly decorative and distinctly Hannah-esque piece of contemporary printmaking.

Condition

Very good to excellent condition overall.

The colours remain strong and attractive, with good definition throughout the pale-blue, rust-red, ochre and black printing.

There is only very minor evidence of handling or natural paper irregularity visible from the supplied photographs. Small variations in ink coverage and texture are characteristic of the screenprinting process.

The pencil signature, 2011 date and edition number 26/50 remain clearly visible.

Please study the photographs carefully as they form an integral part of the description.

Artist: Jonny Hannah
Title: Ouvrez Les Fenêtres de Votre Coeur
Translation: Open the Windows of Your Heart
Date: 2011
Medium: Original colour screenprint
Publisher: Cakes & Ale Press
Edition: 26/50
Signed: Yes, in pencil
Dated: 2011 in pencil
Size: 36 × 50.8 cm
Format: Original limited-edition screenprint
Unframed: Yes
Modern reproduction: No

Authenticity

This print has been handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at Hornseys.

The pencil signature, date, edition number and original Cakes & Ale Press imprint are all present and clearly visible.

It is an original signed and numbered Jonny Hannah screenprint from an edition of only 50, not a later reproduction.

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EXPLORE OUR JONNY HANNAH COLLECTION

Explore our evolving collection of Jonny Hannah original paintings, signed and limited-edition prints, illustrated books and related artworks. His distinctive imagery, hand lettering and narrative style draw upon music, maritime culture, vintage advertising, folk art, popular entertainment and the visual character of British towns and seaside communities.

Whether you are an established collector, an admirer of contemporary British illustration or searching for an unusual and memorable gift, our collection offers the opportunity to acquire carefully selected examples of Jonny Hannah’s work.

Established in 1976 and based in Ripon, North Yorkshire, Hornseys is an independent gallery and bookseller specialising in original art, prints, design, collectable books and historic material. Every item is handled, inspected and catalogued in-house at our Ripon gallery.