Original prints play a significant role in the work of many artists today. Since the 1960s, contemporary prints have rivaled paintings in aesthetic quality, scale, and technical ambition. Many of the printmaking methods artists currently use date to the Renaissance or earlier. However, digital technology and new materials have prompted technical innovation, and expanded creative options have brought fresh vision to a venerable medium. Advancing Tradition: Twenty Years of Printmaking at Flatbed Press,opening November 13, 2012 at the Sordoni Art Gallery at Wilkes University, explores this interplay between tradition and innovation in printmaking. The exhibition will be on view through December 16, 2012.
The exhibition focuses on three key aspects of this dynamic, contemporary process: The uniqueness and diversity of printmaking, the combination of new technologies with traditional equipment and processes, and the crucial role of collaboration between artists and master printers. The artists featured are nationally and internationally renowned and include: Sterling Allen, Terry Allen, Keith Carter, Kelly Fearing, Melissa Miller, Lamar Peterson, Robert Rauschenberg, and Julie Speed. All work in Advancing Tradition was created in the studios of Flatbed Press, Austin, Texas. Founded in 1989, this publishing workshop is modeled on such noble predecessors as Crown Point Press in San Francisco, and Universal Limited Art Editions in West Islip, New York.
The Sordoni Art Gallery is open to the public and is located at 150 South River Street in the Stark Learning Center on the Wilkes University campus. The Gallery is open Tuesday through Sunday, from 12 noon to 4:30 p.m., and is closed for University holidays and breaks. Admission is free. For more information, call 570-408-4325.
Advancing Tradition: Twenty Years of Printmaking at Flatbed Press is curated by Katie Robinson Edwards, Assistant Professor of Art History, Baylor University, Austin, Texas, with assistance from Mark L. Smith, Ph.D., and Katherine Brimberry, both of Flatbed Press.The exhibition is toured by ExhibitsUSA, a national program of Mid-America Arts Alliance. ExhibitsUSA sends more than 25 exhibitions on tour to more than 100 small- and mid-sized communities every year. Mid-America is the oldest nonprofit regional arts organization in the United States. More information is available at www.maaa.org and www.eusa.org.
News, Events, and Reviews 