Giclee fine art is a new genre of art form that has established itself in the last two decades. Therefore, many art enthusiasts are now discovering it. In this article, I’ll explain what fine art giclee is and how it can be found.
Definite: Giclee (zhee-clay) – The French word “giclee” is a feminine noun meaning a spray or stream of liquid. The word may have been derived from the French verb “gicler” meaning “stream”. The term “giclée printing” denotes an advancement in printing technology. Images are generated from high-resolution digital scans and are printed with high-quality inks on various surfaces, including photo paper and canvas.
Method: Giclee prints are usually done with eight to twelve color professional inkjet printers. These state-of-the-art printers are capable of producing incredibly detailed prints for both the fine art and photography markets. These prints are sometimes falsely referred to as Iris prints, which are four-color inkjet prints from a printer pioneered in the late 1970s by Iris Graphics, Inc.
Quality: The high grade of giclee printing rivals traditional gelatin and silver halide printing processes and is commonly found in art galleries, museums, and photography exhibits. The giclee printing process provides greater color accuracy than other reproduction media.
How to find it: Countless examples of giclée fine art prints can be found in New York City at the Metropolitan Museum (MET), the Museum of Modern Art, and the Chelsea Galleries. Recent auctions of giclée prints have raised more than $22,000 for Wolfgang Tillmans, $9,500 for Chuck Close, and $10,700 for Annie Leibovitz. Much less expensive prints can be found on popular websites, such as e-Bay and Amazon.