Kirk, Michael (American, born 1947). DOORWAYS. Six etchings and aquatints, 1975. Edition of 75, of which this is number 17 of the Regular Edition of 60 (there were also 6, for Institutions each of which contained one canceled plate, 6 Artist's Proofs, and 3 Collaborator's Proofs). Each etching signed and dated '75, and numbered 17/60, all in pencil. Printed on Arches Cover paper Housed in a black board portfolio with a title label and string ties. 23 7/8 x 14 7/8 inches (plates), 30 x 22 inches (sheets). Six etchings and a Justification page; lacking the title page. The deckled edges of the sheets browned, as is apparently usual with this set. The original black cloth at the spine of the portfolio worn and reinforced. Still in Very Good Conidtion. In 1974 Kirk executed a suite of five etchings titled NINTH AVENUE SUITE, derived "from a series of drawings of an area known as Hell’s Kitchen in New York City. The work, made in 1974, records the west side of Ninth Avenue from 48th to 49th Street. Today this street bears little resemblance to the one viewed in this artwork. NINTH AVENUE SUITE celebrates an historic neighborhood on the threshold of change. Kirk had just returned to New York from living in Europe where he was struck by the reverence for historic spaces. The city he returned to was in the midst of massive development and ultimately gentrification. This work is the artist’s homage to a particular time and place, and to the people and neighborhood it portrays." Following the edition of the NINTH AVENUE SUITE, Kirk created a portfolio of DOORWAYS, a series of six etchings and aquatints made in 1975 that record architectural details from the same neighborhood.
