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by Marja-Leena

Burnaby Art Gallery exhibitions

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Wayne Eastcott: Diagram Lambda, serigraph.
City of Burnaby Permanent Art Collection.

The Burnaby Art Gallery features two interesting exhibitions.

1. A Survey of British Columbia Printmaking – November 9, 2004-January 2, 2005

From the invitation (links added by me): “The Burnaby Art Gallery has been collecting, on behalf of the citizens of Burnaby, prints by local, regional and national artists since 1967 that explore many social and political issues. Artists such as Arnold Shives, Carel Moiseiwitsch, Gordon Smith, Wayne Eastcott, Doug Biden and Jack Shadbolt are well represented in the collection and exemplify some of the best work in printmaking that has occurred in British Columbia.”

Read one of my posts about Wayne Eastcott.

2. The British Columbia Landscape by Toni Onley – November 2, 2004-January 2, 2005

The late Toni Onley has left an indelible mark on the history and development of art in Canada. Works for this exhibition focus on pieces from the Permanent Collection that relate to the British Columbia landscape.

Read a post about Toni Onley.

Burnaby Art Gallery, 6344 Deer Lake Avenue, Burnaby, BC Phone: 604.205.7332
Tuesday to Friday 10:00am-4:30pm, Saturday & Sunday 12noon-5:00pm

November 4, 2004 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Burnaby Art Gallery exhibitions

by Marja-Leena

collagraphs

Anna, in a nice comment on Memory/Dreams II asked “what’s a collagraph”? Googling came up with these results:

“The Collagraph print is best described as a collage printmaking technique, where the image is composed from a variety of textured materials glued to a substrate and printed either in an intaglio or relief fashion.” – from EKU.

“In a collagraph, the plate is built up and manipulated by the artist, using a collage-like process which combines materials as diverse as cardboard, fabric, gesso, glue, string, sand, carborundum grit, and found objects. The artist can also draw lines into the gesso before it hardens. As a result, the plate may print as both relief and intaglio. Collagraph prints are usually pulled on a press.” – from Washington Printmakers, a good site on printmaking techniques.

Back in March, I wrote two posts What is a Print? and More on Prints, which give some links to sites about printmaking techniques. Interesting that they did not include the collagraph.

The Dreams series of prints that I have been putting up recently, are all utilizing the collagraph technique, sometimes in combination with other media. I am currently working with collagraphs again, now in combination with inkjet prints – I will show these when they are done. I usually like using matboard as the plate, and with acrylic medium I glue on textures like string, cloth, tissue paper, as well as utilizing the medium’s painterly textures, and pressing in textures using various objects. It’s a very enjoyable and non-toxic process that gives interesting results!

October 23, 2004 in Dreams, Printmaking, Printworks by Marja-Leena 7 Comments »

by Marja-Leena

Pressure Points exhibition

As a printmaker, I’m always interested in seeing other artists’ prints and in promoting printmaking. I think it’s a wonderful, though still under-utilized, service when museums and galleries offer good online exhibitions for those of us unable to attend the real thing.

Today via Art Daily, I learned that Indiana University Art Museum in Bloomington, Indiana, USA presents Pressure Points, an exhibition featuring fifty-four contemporary prints from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and his family foundation. The exhibition surveys major trends in contemporary printmaking and includes new works all produced within the last six years by twenty-three nationally and internationally recognized artists, such as Chuck Close, Jeff Koons, Robert Longo, Kiki Smith, and Kara Walker. A wide range of contemporary issues, or pressure points, are explored in the exhibition, including memory, identity, racial stereotypes, consumer culture, and AIDS.

So here’s the best news: some of the artists’ works can be seen on the museum’s site via a Flash interactive module. My personal favourites are Judy Pfaff’s woodcut and photogravure triptych, Judy Hill’s Watermelon Bride, and the well-known Chuck Close portrait, and very intriguing are Robert Longo’s lithographs and John Buck’s woodcuts. Enjoy!

October 5, 2004 in Art Exhibitions, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Pressure Points exhibition

by Marja-Leena

Institute Printmaking Studio

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the printmaking studio at Capilano College** with Wayne Eastcott, printmaking faculty, and Bonnie Jordan, technical assistant, at the largest printing press

This has been a very hectic week for me as I return to the printmaking studio after the summer hiatus. Printmaking requires a fair amount of specialized equipment, investment and space. So, I sign up as a member of the Art Institute at Capilano College**, North Vancouver, BC. I have mentioned this before in earlier articles, but some of you may be interested to know more about this great place where I do my printmaking.

The Institute, specializing in printmaking and sculpture, each with dedicated studios, is equivalent to a graduate level fine arts program, comparable to artist-in-residencies. It is meant for artists with previous extensive education and experience, who will serve as mentors for the students in the Studio Art program. Some of us return with continuing projects and there are always some new artists, so we make an interesting mix that is wonderful for the interchange of new ideas, critiques, exposure to new techniques, support and opportunities to exhibit together.

The well-equipped printmaking studio has several printing presses for intaglio and relief, including a very large 56″ x 97″ one (in above photo), possibly the largest in western Canada. Equipment includes a nuARC exposure unit and large vacuum table, and for digital printmaking there is a 42″ large format archival inkjet printer and computer lab. There are etching and silk-screen facilities and a spray booth, all with an extensive ventilation system.

It’s pretty hard to have all this in my small home studio!

** Since this post was written, it has become Capilano University.
***Sadly, as of June 2013, this 30 year old program has been cut so links to it no longer work and have been removed.

September 10, 2004 in Art Institute (Printmaking), Digital printmaking, Printmaking by Marja-Leena 1 Comment »

by Marja-Leena

man and beast engravings

Eliane at Sellotape Files pointed to Bezembinder who has featured a gorgeous online version of Le Brun’s System on Physiognomy by Morel d’Arleux (after Charles Le Brun).
“The present exhibition concerns a rare and astonishing album of engravings first published in 1806, finely reproducing the set of Charles Le Brun’s physiognomies – comparative drawings of human and animal faces – that had been made over 135 years earlier.”
Hope you enjoy these as much as I do! (thanks, Eliane)

September 3, 2004 in Books, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on man and beast engravings

by Marja-Leena

Wayne Eastcott & Michiko Suzuki

A fascinating collaboration between two internationally well-known printmakers has been happening in the printmaking studios at Capilano University, North Vancouver. Japanese artist, Michiko Suzuki of Tokyo, Japan became the University’s first artist-in-residence in the fall of 2003 and also began a collaboration with Wayne Eastcott, printmaking faculty of Studio Art.

As a member of the Art Institute (Printmaking) at Capilano University**, I was fortunate to observe Michiko’s interesting demonstrations and seminars on her use of Japanese papers (washi) and her unique technique of toner etching. Most exciting was watching Wayne & Michiko’s development of their collaborative works.

This ongoing series of print media works is called INTERCONNECTION. Some of the earliest of these were presented in an exhibition held in Capilano University’s Studio Art Gallery in December 2003. Read their exhibition statement (pdf) describing how their project developed, and what is “yobitsugi.”

Michiko has been here again this summer so both have been working hard to complete their project. They have allowed me to reproduce some of their work here (their copyright).

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Interconnection 2 – Yobitsugi 1 2003
inkjet, silkscreen, etching, chine collé & metallic pigment
78 x 113.5 cm.

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Interconnection 2 – Yobitsugi 2 2003
inkjet, silkscreen, etching, chine collé & metallic pigment
78 x 113.5 cm.

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Interconnection 3 (Recall 1) 2004
inkjet, silkscreen & metallic pigment
80 x 108 cm.

wayne_michiko.jpg
Michiko and Wayne in the printmaking studio at Capilano University

More about Wayne Eastcott including images of earlier works:
– Represented by Elliot Louis Gallery*, Vancouver
– **UPDATE: now represented by Bellevue Gallery in West Vancouver
– Grand Forks Art Gallery exhibition*
– Capilano University faculty web gallery*
– More images via Google Images

More about Michiko Suzuki, including some images:
– a review
– TrueNorth SNAP International Print Biennial 2002 2nd prize
– Lessedra (Bulgaria) World Art Print Annual 2004 participant
– Bimpe III Triennial First Prize
– Gallery 219 in Tokyo, Japan, will be showing Michiko’s personal work Oct.5-Oct. 20, 2004

* UPDATE January 2012: Some links have been updated or removed if expired.
Edited January 16th, 2013 to show larger images.
** UPDATE summer 2013: This program is no longer offered at Capilano University so link is gone

August 23, 2004 in Art Institute (Printmaking), Digital printmaking, Other artists, Printmaking by Marja-Leena 1 Comment »

by Marja-Leena

Printmaking and Granville Island

It’s now raining hard in Vancouver at long last after a hot dry summer and instead of outside work, I suddenly have some free time to blog.

Malaspina Printmakers is the subject of a review: Freedom Of The Press by Robin Laurence in the Straight. Laurence views the summer group show in the newly expanded gallery and also the printshop facilities. There are some interesting comments about the closure of the printmaking program at University of Victoria, but the rumoured closing at Emily Carr Institute is fortunately only rumour.

As you will have read in the review, Malaspina is an artist run printmakers’ workshop with a gallery space. Dundarave Print Workshop is another one, and both are located on Granville Island near downtown Vancouver. The “island” is a lively place with a colourful public market, numerous art and craft studios and shops, theatres, restaurants and the art school, Emily Carr Institute. Granville Island is a very popular tourist destination and is a wonderful example of how the arts, business and tourism can thrive together.

We took our European visitors there recently and they were quite enthusiastic also about the colourful and funky houseboats behind the art school, sailboats coming and going, the crowds feeding the seagulls while listening to buskers outside the market and eating takeout food from the variety of stands, all with the city’s sleek highrise condominiums in the background across the water glimmering in the sunshine.

August 21, 2004 in Canada and BC, Culture, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Printmaking and Granville Island

by Marja-Leena

Print Exhibition in Philadelphia

Libby of Roberta & Libby’s artblog raves about an unusual print exhibition at the Fleisher Art Memorial in Philadelphia:

“Several Steps Removed” is so terrrific and I have to share it. It’s all prints and plates or other matrixes used to create them, and if you want to know a little more about printmaking, or you just want to see some terrific stuff, this show is for you (I figure that includes everyone in our reading audience).”

Libby has posted several images from the show with great descriptions, more than the gallery’s site. She finishes by writing, “But after seeing this show, I’m convinced that all print making has a touch of alchemy.”

The exhibition was produced with the Philadelphia Print Collaborative. Their site is worth a visit to look at the images in their group portfolios.

July 20, 2004 in Art Exhibitions, Other artists, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Print Exhibition in Philadelphia

by Marja-Leena

Original Prints vs. Reproductions

The Centre for Contemporary Canadian Art’s online Canadian Art Database includes a section on Printmaking, where I found a good explanation of the difference between an original print and a reproduction, something that is still confusing to many people, and is an important issue for buyers of art.

The introduction states: An original print is an image that has been conceived by the artist as a print and executed solely as a print, usually in a numbered edition, and signed by the artist. Each print of the edition is an original, printed from a plate, stone, screen, block or other matrix created for that purpose.

A reproduction (although often called a print) has no relationship whatsoever to an original print; it is a copy of a work of art conceived by the artist in another medium (painting, watercolour, etc.). The reproduction has usually been made by photo-mechanical means. Numbering and signing a reproduction does not change its essence; it is still a reproduction. It is not an original print.

Continue reading under Definition of Original Print in this section.

Of additional interest here, The Printing Process Illustrated is a guide to some original printmaking methods.

See also previous posts What is a Print? and more on prints.

More about original prints on Mauricio Lasansky’s site, an artist whose drawings and prints I admire greatly.

June 24, 2004 in Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on Original Prints vs. Reproductions

by Marja-Leena

alphabet books

Abecedarium* is an online exhibit of lovely hand-made alphabet books by the Guild of Book Workers.

Given only the ‘alphabet’ theme, each participant has created a unique interpretation of the letterform, delivering two- and three-dimensional works in a plethora of materials, from acrylic to cloth, paper to leather, buttons to mylar and other unusual materials. Representing the many facets of the world known as ‘the book arts’, this exhibit includes calligraphy, typography, bookbinding and papermaking in both unique and traditional forms.

Note some of the additional links such as 26 Words by Peter D. Verheyen & Thorsten Dennerline who lithographically printed their illustrations from hand-drawn plates. Their site includes descriptions of several printmaking processes.

(Thanks to plep.)

Actually, when I first read the caption “alphabet books”, I expected to see something like this very first reader (in Finnish) from my childhood:

aapinen.jpg

*Sadly, this site no longer exists and link has been removed.

June 14, 2004 in Books, Printmaking by Marja-Leena Comments Off on alphabet books

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