‌
FairArt Logo

Breakthrough

Andrew Scott's 'Breakthrough' editions grew out of his 2023 online solo show with Stowe Gallery, starting with a set of four framed prints in editions of 192. Each pairs a drawn figure with glass cracked by hand, so no two are alike, and later releases ('Push', 'Smash' in four colourways, 'Burden' and 'The Axe') returned to the show's ideas.

All Breakthrough Works By Andrew Scott (12)

Significance & Analysis

'Breakthrough', Scott's debut international solo show, set out the subject that runs through his editions: a figure fighting its way out of the frame. The show went live online on 12 June 2023 with 16 new works, and every original sold instantly on release. The editions kept the physical act at the heart of the originals. A slow-motion film of the 'Slingshot' release shows Scott dropping a centre punch on the glass, the same method used to crack the glass of every 'Slingshot' print.

The editions

'Slingshot' was sold for one week only as a timed edition, and the edition size was fixed afterwards at the number sold: 192. 'Escape', 'Foul Ball' and 'The Boxer' followed on 23 June 2023 in the same edition size, so that the four could be collected together as a set. 'Push' arrived in December 2023 in an edition of 250 plus 25 artist's proofs, framed in the same mouldings and wood as the first four so that it would hang alongside them, and it sold out in three days.

'Smash', released in March 2024, was a work from the original show that had never been editioned. Scott dates the idea of a man shattering his way out to his earliest frame experiments. Hesitant until then to bring new colours into his work, he issued it in red, black, gold and grayscale, each print hand finished with a hammer.

Weight and escape

Scott has described 'Push' in personal terms: "The frame being a literal weight on my shoulders that I struggle to hold up." He made 'Burden' as its companion in 2023 but held it back until March 2026, saying that while 'Push' tells a story of triumph, 'Burden' shows "someone trying to hold things together." 'The Axe', first tried in 2023 and released in July 2026, belongs with 'Escape' and 'Smash' in what he calls "self portraits of myself escaping from the frame."

Before and after

The 'Breakthrough' editions are rooted in destruction: cracked glass and broken frames. In Frame of Mind (2024) Scott turned to string, cut mats and corner frames, and Parallel Worlds (2025) took him further into folded paper, reshaped frames and sculptural additions.

How Many Breakthrough Prints Were Made?

'Slingshot', 'Escape', 'Foul Ball' and 'The Boxer': 192 each. 'Push': 250 plus 25 artist's proofs. 'Smash': 75 per colour (red, black, gold and grayscale) at 44.5 x 33 cm, with artist's proofs, plus a collector's edition of 12 per colour at 87 x 62.5 cm. 'Burden' and 'The Axe' were 24-hour timed editions, so their size was set by the number sold in that window.

What Is the Breakthrough Set of 4?

It brings together 'Slingshot', 'Escape', 'Foul Ball' and 'The Boxer', the four editions of 192 released in June 2023. All four share the same format: a 44.5 x 33 cm framed print on watercolour paper behind hand-cracked glass. Collectors who bought 'Slingshot' during its timed week were offered the other three with matching edition numbers.

How Do You Tell a Smash Collector's Edition From the Standard Edition?

By size and paper. The standard 'Smash' is 44.5 x 33 cm, printed on Velvet Ultra 300gsm paper in an edition of 75 per colour. The collector's edition is 87 x 62.5 cm on Silk 300gsm paper, limited to 12 per colour plus three artist's proofs. Both are hand finished with a hammer and framed in open-grain black wood.

Why Is the Series Called Breakthrough?

Because Scott sees the figures breaking out of their frames as his own story. He has described his frame art as a reflection of his personal journey "from feeling trapped to breaking out of my self-imposed limitations." The cracked glass and broken frames of the editions make that idea physical.