Art & Prints··3 min read
Outline Editions: Noma Bar and Limited Edition Prints
Outline Editions made collecting illustration feel easy and fun, with limited edition prints by artists including Noma Bar. Here is how to build a print wall of your own.
If you have ever wanted to own a piece of real art but felt put off by hushed galleries and intimidating price lists, Outline Editions is a name worth knowing. Founded in London by Camilla Parsons and Bill Tuckey, it set out to give illustrators and graphic artists a proper place to sell their work as limited edition art prints, at prices that make collecting feel possible.
We first came across Outline Editions through its Soho shows, where walls of crisp, witty prints were displayed with the kind of energy you rarely find in a conventional gallery. It felt less like a temple to art and more like a very good record shop: browse, chat, fall for something, take it home.
Why Outline Editions matters
Illustration often lives in books, magazines and advertising, which means it is seen by millions and owned by almost no one. Outline Editions turned that around by working with artists to produce signed, numbered editions, so the same sharp thinking you might glimpse on a book cover or in a newspaper could hang on your own wall.
Over the years its roster has included names such as Anthony Burrill, Kate Moross, Malika Favre and Kristjana S Williams, alongside one artist in particular who stopped us in our tracks.
Noma Bar prints
Noma Bar is an Israeli-born, London-based graphic artist famous for his use of negative space. His images are deceptively simple: a few flat shapes that, on second glance, resolve into two ideas at once. A face becomes a landscape; an animal hides inside another. It is visual wit at its most economical.
Outline Editions has shown his work more than once, including his Cut It Out exhibition during the London Design Festival in 2011, where visitors could make their own cut-out prints using a dog-shaped embossing machine. It was a perfect example of the gallery's playful approach: art you could interact with, not just admire.
The best graphic prints reward you twice: once when you see them, and again when you finally see what they are hiding.
Noma Bar prints work beautifully at home because they are calm at a distance and clever up close. They suit a quiet, pared-back room, and they give visitors something to puzzle over while the kettle boils.
Building a wall of limited edition art prints
Our photo shows one of our favourite ways to display a growing collection: floating picture ledges. Rather than committing to a fixed gallery wall with dozens of nail holes, you prop framed prints on two or three narrow shelves and shuffle them whenever the mood takes you.
- Overlap the frames. Layer a smaller print in front of a larger one for depth and a relaxed, collected look.
- Vary the scale. Mix a few large pieces with smaller ones so the eye has somewhere to rest.
- Repeat one element. Matching frame colours, or a recurring accent shade across the prints, stops a busy wall from looking chaotic.
- Leave breathing room. A ledge crammed end to end loses its charm. Aim for little gaps between groups.
- Rotate seasonally. Keep a few prints in reserve and swap them in, so the wall never goes stale.
Graphic and illustrated prints sit happily with comic art too. If you like the idea, read our feature on John Patrick Reynolds' comic art prints, or see how we approached shelving more generally in our post on Cubit shelving.
Tips for buying limited edition art prints in London
London is a wonderful city for print lovers, with pop-up shows, design festivals and studio sales throughout the year. A few pointers if you are starting out:
- Look for the edition size and the artist's signature; these are what make a print collectable.
- Ask about the printing process. Giclée, screenprint and risograph each have their own character.
- Buy from sellers who work directly with artists, so more of your money supports the people making the work.
- Do not chase investment value. Buy what you want to look at every day.
Looking back
When we wrote the original version of this post in 2013, Outline Editions was best known to us through its Soho shows and pop-ups. Shops and galleries change shape over the years, so check its own website for current stock and how it sells today before planning a visit.
Questions readers ask
What is Outline Editions?
Outline Editions is a London-based seller of limited edition art prints, founded by Camilla Parsons and Bill Tuckey, that specialises in work by illustrators and graphic artists.
Who is Noma Bar?
Noma Bar is an Israeli-born graphic artist based in London, known for clever images that use negative space so that one picture contains two ideas. Outline Editions has exhibited his prints.
How do I display a collection of limited edition prints?
Floating picture ledges are an easy option: prop framed prints on narrow shelves, overlap a few, vary the sizes and rotate pieces in and out without putting new holes in the wall.
