Daniel Eatock
Daniel Eatock: Pens Paper
Melbourne, Australia: Formist Editions, 2016
304 pp., 15 × 21.5 cm., hardcover
Edition of 1000


A Swiss-bound book with exposed stitching that features numerous images of Eatock's self-generating felt-tip marker works and an essay by Cranbrook Art Museum director Andrew Blauvelt.

"British artist and designer Daniel Eatock creates concept-driven pieces that explore the recording of actions. Over the past two decades, he has repurposed the conventional tools of graphic design – coloured felt-tip pens and white paper – to produce his most distinctive work.

Working compulsively in series, Eatock either rests inverted pens on stacks of paper or places paper on the nibs of upright pens, leaving time and chance to make their marks. Surprisingly, these straightforward, mechanical steps produce abstract, organic sequences that range from bright dots to bleeding pools of intense colour.

In a sense, this experimental work is self-producing. By devising set-ups that systematically make art, Eatock retains control over the execution, but relinquishes control of the outcome – faithfully observing his manifesto’s directives to “embrace chance” and “trust the process”. This action-based approach is also evident in his instruction of the participants who collaborated to create his circle drawings."

- press release