Chris Foss, the legendary science fiction artist best known for hundreds of paperback covers and designs for classic sci-fi movies including Alien and Dune, is releasing a limited edition print of one of his most famous works.
Ironically, the image is from the production design for a movie which was never made, Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune, planned almost 50 years ago. When Jodorowsky’s project collapsed, Chris Foss’s art lived on, through collections of his work including the books 21st Century Foss and Hardware, and in an almost mythical Dune ‘bible’ used to promote the planned production to Hollywood studios.
In a highly-anticipated collaboration with Chris Foss, contemporary art production house Fluorescent Smogg, has unveiled a hand-finished screen print edition of Dune Guild Tug. The collaboration marks the first-ever publication of this iconic artwork in a 14-colour screen print edition. Dune Guild Tug showcases artist Chris Foss’ visionary talent, and his significant contributions to the unmade Dune project by Alejandro Jodorowsky and many other movie productions.
Intersection
Fluorescent Smogg said: “We are extremely proud to present this edition with Chris Foss. As producers of contemporary and psychedelic art this project is a dream come true. Introducing a new generation of creators and collectors to this artist’s work and influence is hugely important to what we do. This edition captures a hugely important intersection between Fine, Contemporary and Psychedelic art and film history.”
Chris Foss’s groundbreaking and distinctive science fiction art revolutionised paperback covers in the 1970s and 80s. In 1975, Paris-based cult film director Jodorowsky was looking for artists to illustrate the script for his adaptation of Frank Herbert’s 1965 science fiction novel Dune when he came across Chris’ artwork in an art book shop.
After being invited by the director to produce concept work for the film, Foss travelled to Paris to begin, working for four months before the project was disbanded. The film sadly never came to light, but Foss’s original painting sold last year for 50,000 euros. The image also featured on the cover of the Dune ‘Bible’, a book of all the imagery created for the film, a copy of which sold for 2.3 million in 2022, and on the poster for Jodorowsky’s Dune, a 2013 documentary.
Now, the new and updated 14-colour screen print sees Chris Foss’s original artwork scaled up, with additional details that could have existed had work on the film been completed. The print, created on 410 Somerset Satin, measures an impressive 90 x 66.5cm and features hand-torn edges.
Chris Foss said: “It has been interesting to revisit artwork that I created all the way back in Paris in 1975 for Alejandro Jodorowsky’s Dune. Bearing in mind the original was barely a quarter of the size of this print, I’m pleased to see how well the detail and colour has reproduced. It’s rather fun that 40 years later I’m painting what I would’ve done had the film continued. Each print will have its own unique ships with different motifs, implying that they are different guilds. This is the first time I have enhanced a screen print, which I find to be an intriguing medium. The paper accepts the paint particularly well and I’ve enjoyed working with it.”
Elements
Fluorescent Smogg continued: “Working closely with Chris to revisit and produce this project has only been bettered by his incredible attention to detail in hand finishing each and every print. Collaborating with Fluorescent Smogg on this project has created the opportunity to add elements to Dune Guild Tug that may have possibly developed if the Dune film project had continued.”
Chris continues to develop and experiment from his studio in Guernsey, Channel Islands.
Art Description: 14 colour screenprint on 310gsm Somerset Satin, with hand torn edges, hand finished by Artist
Size: 90 x 64cm
Edition: 40
Year: 2022
Authenticity: Numbered and Signed by Artist
Price: £1,700
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See also: Photographer Thomas Hoepker – Early Works on Show
