The Cote d'Azur Triangle. Etchings and lithographs by Mark Beard

New York: Vincent FitzGerald & Company, 1985. Signed, Limited Edition, one of 119 copies only on Rives BFK, all signed by the author and artist, hand set in Janson, lithographs and etchings pulled by the Printmaking Workshop of Bob Blackburn. Page size 12 x 14 inches. Bound by Gerard Charriere, in cloth of vibrant yellow, with title stamped in blue within a red triangle on front cover, housed in black clamshell box by Charriere, fine.
In this play by Harry Kondoleon, "A woman, her husband, and her husband's lover go up and down the Riviera only to be disappointed by the Riviera. The dullness of the Cote D'Azur reveals to these Americans the dullness and impossibility of love...they tire of one another and pursue sex partners at random until they are attacked and consumed by sea dragons." Mark Beard's brilliant illustrations of these "two dimensional and ironic" characters, in their bathing suits and sunglasses, in saturated primary colors, and his flat presentation, are overwhelming in their impact of the characters' vapidity. With illustrations such as Greek temple caryatids folding out to reveal the Cote d'Azur and paper doll players, Beard's art inexpressibly moves the viewer to the inevitable crush by the dragon of these pitiable self-centered creatures. A brilliant mixture of wit and irony with difficult and innovative printmaking techniques producing prints with highly unusual textures, especially in the final fold out, which has an effect of great richness and mystery. One of the most exciting works from the already renowned livre d'artiste oeuvre of Mark Beard.