The Gowanus Studio Space is pleased to announce a group exhibition curated by its three 2010 printmaking fellows: Johee Kim, Rachel Ostrow and Maggie Wright.

Artists:

Martin Bland, Noah Breuer, Carda Burke, Deb Chaney, Ben Cohen, Angela Conant, Emily Elsen, Beka Goedde, Valerie Hammond, Johee Kim, Ilias Koen, Miranda Leighfield, Genevieve Lowe, Frank Olive, Rachel Ostrow, Krista Peters, Sarah Nicole Phillips, Julia Samuels, Francesco Simeti, Michal Skiba, Kiki Smith, Erica Svec, Maggie Trakas and Maggie Wright.

While the three residents have each had extensive professional printmaking experience in New York City printshops, their show focuses instead on the self-made print, culling from a wide variety of technique, including etching, lithography, woodcut and silkscreen. Traditional uses of the medium are abundant, but several prints blur the boundaries of the expected. Inked-up Reeses Peanut Butter cup wrappers, stamped balloons and faxed pages (edition numbered by their times through the machine) prove a dedication to the idea of printmaking without the use of a press or drawn matrix. Other prints are manipulated by additional media: pencil, collage, hand-coloring; media is also manipulated by printed matter. There are experimental uses of common printmaking effects – careful cut-outs of chine collé, collages of rainbow rolls – and plates which have been cut out, sandblasted, and etched with the impression of fresh pie.

A common thematic thread was not intentional at the outset, but as the curators selected work for the show certain themes became evident. The natural world provides a strong current, with nods to folk art and the mystical. Several animals and plants make appearances, as do depictions and abstractions of the natural and man-made landscape. In contrast, many works, often saturated with color, demonstrate a geometric precision in line and detail. Humor and wit is apparent and important – the exhibition does not intend to provide a serious analysis of recent DIY printmaking. Alternatively, it strives to offer an inclusive, light-hearted view of the variety of approaches and experimentation possible within the constructs of the medium. It is a harvest of many fruits united by the same tree.