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Printmakers Open Forum: Exchange Portfolio 2019 “Sanctuary”

September 15 through November 10, 2019

Printmakers Open Forum: Exchange Portfolio 2019 Sanctuary

Director and Curator Shelley Thorstensen’s statement:

“Traditional printmaking today retains the zip of the freeze-dried moment, arti ce on supple yet fragile paper—the juxtaposition of labor (on a plate, on a stone) with the (almost) instantaneous nature and
feel of the printed surface. With the inclusion of newer digital habitation within the output of intaglio, lithograph and silkscreen, printmaking now stands in the cross hairs. For the addition of any new technol- ogy is rst and foremost of our making and then makes things complicated. It begs question of the artist/ printmaker and taunts that one better know what one is doing.” —Shelley Thorstensen from “The Realm of All Possibilities”.

As such, Printmakers Open Forum LLC (PMOF) has compiled a portfolio of twenty-six current printmak- ers work. The portfolio is entitled “Sanctuary” and these 11 x 14” prints represent the state of printmak- ing as of June 2019. The artists range in age from 23 to 83; they come from 14 di erent states, as well as Canada and Sweden, and span the spectrum from emerging to well-established artists. One thing all these printmakers have in common is that they have each individually provided help over the years to Printmakers Open Forum.

The idea for this portfolio was conceived by Michael Ezzell during PMOF’s PrintCamp2018. He proposed the creation of a portfolio with the theme being “sanctuary”. Former PMOF shop assistant Christina Giancola had coined the phrase “Print Shop Sanctuary” in 2012. “Print Shop Sanctuary” refers to the feeling printmakers have while immersed at work in a shop. The idea gained momentum and has now come to fruition in this portfolio. The portfolio will be permanently housed in at least three locations: Janet Turner Museum, Chico CA permanent collection; Kenosha Public Museum, Kenosha WI permanent collection; and the University of Indiana-Evansville permanent art collection. In addition, the portfolio will tour in various venues starting with an exhibition at the Women’s Studio Workshop, Rosendale NY during the summer of 2019.

The colophon for Sanctuary is comprised of paper handmade by Tony Carlone from plant bers from PMOF grounds. Lyndsey Burke of Risolve Studio designed the colophon, Sanctuary logo and artist biography pages. Ben Iluzada and Evgenia Kim screenprinted the colophon page. Mike Takano compiled information from and about the artists.

Printmakers Open Forum, the Home for Wayward Print Girls and Boys, is a free form, shared, non-hierar- chical amalgam of printmakers that believe information, technologies, and ideas should be accessed in open-source fashion. Located in Oxford Pennsylvania, PMOF is a working studio utilizing all printmaking techniques: screen-print, intaglio, lithography, relief and digital modalities. One of the missions of PMOF is to help sanely transition good printmakers from college to being a live-to-make-work-another-day artist without dropping them on their heads out of college. PMOF is not a non-pro t, but just a shop and does not have outside funding. It’s a forum to think up stu and do it—like this portfolio.

For more information about or to schedule exhibitions of this portfolio contact any of the participating artists or write directly to PMOF at info@printmakersopenforum.org.

Find Printmakers Open Forum on Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr and at Printmakers Open Forum’s website.

Katie Baldwin Alabama 
Judy Baumann Oregon
Katharina BossmannKansas
Aaron ColemanArizona
Paul DeRuvoConnecticut
Sebastian Delaney (Burke)Pennsylvania
Jeff DellTexas
Tony CarloneNew York 
Michael Ezzell Rhode Island
Cassie Ferguson – Hawaii 
Paul GalangHawaii 
Christina GiancolaPennsylvania 
Carey GoodRhode Island 
Ben Iluzadacurrently in Pennsylvania 
Jon Irving New York 
Jane Kimcurrently in Pennsylvania 
Sarah McDermott – West Virginia 
Jenn ManzellaPennsylvania 
Ann PiperPennsylvania
Allison Rosh Ohio

Ron Ruble – Wisconsin 
Heather SimonsmeierAlberta, Canada
Shelley ThorstensenPennsylvania 
Katie VanVliet – Pennsylvania
Patrick WagnerSweden 
Michelle Wilson California 

Image credit: Michael Ezzell, Mother Thread,  Etching with watercolor

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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