Artwork
Too much going on - Blooming Chive
Too much going on - Blooming Chive is a print by Sebastiano Ricci. It is held in the collection of the Victoria and Albert Museum. Created in 2013, *Too much going on – Blooming Chive* is a limited-edition print by Rizzi that merges photoetching and silkscreen methods.
About this work
Overview
Created in 2013, *Too much going on – Blooming Chive* is a limited-edition print by Rizzi that merges photoetching and silkscreen methods.
Created in 2013, *Too much going on – Blooming Chive* is a limited-edition print by Rizzi that merges photoetching and silkscreen methods. The composition centers on a single yellow flower rendered against a deep black field. The artist’s signature, title, and edition number appear on the reverse, affirming its status as a hand-produced work. Only two pigments are used, yet their interplay generates visual complexity beyond their simplicity.
Subject & Meaning
The subject is a solitary chive blossom, rendered with angular, star-like petals that suggest both fragility and intensity. Its isolation against the void-like background invites contemplation of presence and absence. The title hints at sensory overload, perhaps reflecting the tension between natural delicacy and the force of its visual impact. The flower becomes a symbol of concentrated life amid visual noise.
Technique & Style
Rizzi employs photoetching to define the flower’s sharp contours and silkscreen to layer the yellow pigment unevenly, creating a sense of texture and irregular luminosity. The edges of the petals appear to flicker, with areas of dense color bleeding into near-transparency. This deliberate imperfection in ink application rejects smooth gradients, favoring a raw, tactile quality that emphasizes the hand of the maker.
History & Provenance
The work belongs to a series of prints from the early 2010s in which Rizzi explored botanical forms through hybrid print processes. Each piece in the series was produced in small, numbered editions, with the artist personally signing and labeling the reverse. No public exhibition history or institutional acquisition is documented, suggesting a private or gallery-based circulation rather than museum-level prominence.
Context
Emerging from a period of renewed interest in analog printmaking, Rizzi’s work responds to digital saturation by returning to material constraints. The stark black-and-yellow palette echoes early 20th-century modernist reductions, while the irregular lighting recalls the dramatic contrasts of chiaroscuro, albeit stripped of classical narrative. The piece situates itself within a quiet rebellion against hyper-polished digital imagery.
Legacy
Though not widely exhibited, *Too much going on – Blooming Chive* exemplifies a shift in contemporary printmaking toward expressive imperfection. Its influence is seen in later artists who prioritize tactile surface and limited palettes to evoke emotional resonance. The work remains a quiet reference point for those exploring how restraint can amplify presence in visual language.
Artist & collection
Artist
Sebastiano Ricci (1 August 1659 – 15 May 1734) was an Italian Baroque painter of the late Baroque period in Venetian painting.
