Boris Artzybasheff (1899-1965) has gone through the critical understanding barrier. Much vaunted as the Neglected Surrealist of Mechanismo, he is neither neglected nor a Surrealist. His acid coloured Gremlins caused much fluttering among those who don't know what to say about pictures.

But he is more than that.

He is prolific and inventive and clever. When restricted to the protracted continuance of a type (Lycoming anthropomorphs) Oily Devils and poised hands holding Fountain Pens, etc etc he gets bored and bores. But mould these graphic skills into the precise communication of information, maps and diagrams, he is a master at visualising data and process - clear and immediate. I have lived with The Cosmos of the UCC framed on our wall here in Brighton since 2005, and it never fails to seize the attention. I have added other representative material, from a range of sources. His early work before 1930 repays study, very close to Antonio Petruccelli in the late Twenties. I asked Tony if they ever met. Sometimes in a corridor, in passing, he said regretfully.