These lithographs are from my personal collection, created by an excellent German artist of whom – if all goes well – you’ll be hearing more next year. They date from thirty years ago, a time not long after we met. The inspiration was a short story written by the Argentinean master Jorge Luis Borges called The House of Asterion. Here’s how it begins:

I know they accuse me of arrogance, perhaps also of misanthropy, perhaps also madness. Such accusations (which I shall castigate in due course) are laughable. It is true that I do not leave my house, but it is also true that its doors (which are infinite* in number) are open day and night to man and animal alike. Anyone who wishes may enter. One will not find feminine extravagance here, nor gallant courtly ritual, just quiet and solitude…

I met the artist on board a ship while we were travelling between Cyprus and Italy in 1977. He created these miniatures in the months that followed, then changed his name to Gregor Hiltner and embarked upon a hectic career in abstract art, sculpture and all kinds of diverse and monumental creations. He claims he could never do this kind of thing again; his eyes are shot.

I’m offering up a few of these limited edition prints in hopes that curiosity for his work will be whetted. If you like them, please sign the Rover mailing list and stay posted for a larger exhibition of Gregor’s work sometime in the not-too-distant future.  Meanwhile, you can visit his studio in Berlin, and his websites at: www.gregorhiltner.com and www.gregor-hiltner.de.

- Marianne Ackerman