New inventions arise like a flash of inspiration. They challenge the inventive spirit and take their toll. After more than two years of continuous experimentation, the artist achieved his breakthrough. In 2013, Frank Rosenzweig presented his exciting idea for the first time. Printing with rust.

OXYGRAPHY (word creation from oxy-, for oxidation and -graphy from Greek: γράφειν graphein “to write”) is a new form of artistic printmaking, printing technique.

The process

A steel plate is used as the printing plate, which is first covered with a layer of lacquer. The motif to be printed is worked into the lacquer by hand by scratching, sanding and masking. For printing, damp paper is pressed onto the printing plate over a longer period of time. The moisture causes the steel to rust and leaves a rust mark on the paper. In this way, the artistic motif is transferred to the paper or canvas without the use of any added printing ink.

The limitation

Due to the progressive oxidation of the printing plate, the number of printable copies is naturally limited and each copy is unique. As a rule, editions of up to 12 prints are produced.