Review / Informed Opinions

 

February Issue 1999

 

True Printmaking: A Rich Offering

Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition at the Theatre Art Galleries, High Point, NC

A Review

 

by Amy Funderburk

 

Currently on display in Gallery C at the Theatre Art Galleries in High Point, NC is a traveling exhibition of prints by members of the Southern Graphics Council, the largest print organization in North America. 156 artists each submitted one print for consideration by the juror, Los Angeles artist Walter Askin, who selected 36 works for inclusion. A cross section of contemporary printmaking, ranging from works by well established print artists to student work, the exhibit includes traditional printmaking techniques, such as etchings, relief prints, and lithographs, as well as prints using photographic and digital processes. Artists from nineteen different states are represented.

 

There are many strong images in the varied exhibit. Due to submission parameters, no work is large scale. Some of the most impressive works are intimate pieces set off by wide white mats. Glowing Ember, an intaglio piece by Janet Ballweg from Bowling Green, OH, is one such work. Only about 4" x 5", this is a kitchen scene with limited space and a bold, angular point of view. The corner of a stove and wall are included on the left; part of a table, chairs and window are beyond on the right. A strong directional light casts a bold shadow of the stove-top kettle on the wall, while a red-hot burner coil gives this work its title. Magenta, orange, red-orange, yellow, and yellow-green comprise this warm, intense color composition. These bold color choices invite the viewer to explore the excellent composition and dramatic light quality.

Another small scale piece, Chiaroscuro #5: Egg, a lithograph by Suzanne Michele Chouteau of Cincinnati, OH, is only about 2 1/2" x 5". The subject matter of this work is a very pregnant woman, shown in a shallow three-quarter view from shoulder to thigh. One breast and the large belly are the main forms; the arms create movement as one crosses a breast; the other rests under the belly. The work is delicately rendered; the soft stipple texture often the result of the lithographic process adds to the delicate quality.

Lime Jello, an intaglio by Lauren Schiller of Logan, UT, is about 3" x 4". The value range is one of various grays. A bowl, slightly elevated on a draped surface, contains large cubes of lime jello tinted a yellow green. Piled on top of the jello is a small mound of sand with a decorative paper drink umbrella in it. The umbrella is tinted a rosy red. The use of almost complementary colors and the humor of this work make it quite appealing.

 

Humor abounds in the exhibition. For example, Melancholia of Knowledge, an intaglio and multi-colle by John D. Gall of Jamestown, NC, depicts a gnome, head in hand and wearing a red dunce's cap, surrounded by a clutter of letters, books, and mathematical tools. One of the strongest works in the exhibit as a result of its humor is the screenprint The Ladies' Mixmaster by Kathryn Maxwell, Tempe AZ. The image, about 11" x 14", has a rich navy background. In a large center square a topographic map of the moon is printed in a lighter blue with light pink detailing. Inside this square is a brightly clad Mother Mary. Around the perimeter, side by side, are 1950's illustrations of women in front of tables or counters with different kitchen appliances. Each woman is a different bright color - green, turquoise, rose, yellow, or magenta. Under each is a bar of the same color with one of the words "chops, grinds, slices, shreds, grates, extracts, peels, or mixes" printed in red, all capital letters. The combination of elements jovially brings to mind the phrase, "Domestic Goddess." Another favorite amusing work is the etching Perry Como Leaves Home by Constance Estep Wells of Bloomington, IL. A cupie doll exits the scene out the lower left, balanced out by his home in the distance on the upper right.

 

An elegant, graphic work is Infinite Fortune by Shannon Campbell, Knoxville, TN, a stone and photo lithograph. The image area is a square on a larger, vertical rectangular paper. Light turquoise, sepia, and black creates the limited color scheme. A geometric study of a fortune cookie, the work looks like an architect's or inventor's design. Within the square is an aerial view in the upper left, a side view in the lower left, an edge view in the lower right, and negative space in the upper right. Non-photo blue grid lines and diagonals connect the views and enhance the graphic quality. Within each cookie are beautiful and delicate values. Below the image area is a fortune which states that "a change in perspective may reveal pattern, convolving infinity." The viewer is called to notice the refinement of proportions within the shape of the common fortune cookie.

 

Some of the strongest works in the show use various animal forms as emphasis. An intaglio by Sarojini JHA Johnson from Muncie, IN, is Tiger. Bold expressive lines and textures define the shapes of this composition. A leafy green and black border on the top and sides of the horizontal composition frames the simplified, stylized landscape. A pale moon rests in a purple sky in the upper right. A rust colored hill is the only background. On the right, a tiger walks down a path to the left. On the left, a blue bird sits on a branch, facing the tiger. The colors are all subdued, helping convey the feeling of a night scene. The subtle colors paired with the bold textures are a great combination.

 

One of the largest images, A Bird's Sanctuary, is a lithograph by Alan Lam of Honolulu, HI. The values range from the warm white of the paper to the solid black ink. The black is predominant, since it is used as the negative space. Birds, facing in all directions, are naturalistically rendered. Where lines of the negative space black cross the birds, they serve as twigs and branches. The mind figures it out when there is a view of feet grasping the black line of invading space. Where negative shape becomes positive, it is intriguing. A relatively flat space suddenly gains depth, yet with no texture within the black twigs, the space is forced into flatness once more.

 

War Bird #2 is a bold lithograph by Dan Britton of Chandler, AZ. A fierce bird in profile from head to shoulder invades the horizontal image area from the right. This parent bird is created from bold, expressive lines and beautiful textures. Its red eye is the only color in the work of black, sepia, and grays. It casts a shadow on the flat plane just below, unconfirmed as ground or water. Included on the left are hungry baby birds with mouths agape, only their heads and necks showing. Four babies are in a clump in the lower left, while one is in the upper right. Other than a horizontal line, there is no clue to landscape or spacial relationships. This ambiguity keeps the work mysterious, powerful, and psychological. Negative spaces feature subtle, soft textures. The "sky" in this world has an almost marbleized look. Viewers may find themselves creating forms there as they would forms from cloud shapes in our sky.

 

The Southern Graphics Council Traveling Exhibition offers a rich variety, both in type of subject matter as well as printmaking methods. I am also pleased that such an exhibition of true, hand-pulled prints is being offered to help further clarify the difference between printmaking and mechanical reproductions, the latter often mistakenly referred to as "prints."

 

After checking out the Southern Graphics Council exhibition, viewers have two other galleries to explore in the building. In the Main Gallery, David Nance offers Expressions in Color. These acrylics and occasional oil are soothing landscapes and still-lifes. Nance's work is well executed, with loose, painterly, self assured stokes. The underpainting technique is used masterfully, as is the subsequent application of color layering. Nance has a consistent good eye for color harmony, choosing combinations which are sometimes surprising, but always complex, bright, and pleasing. His use of textures and the strength of his negative spaces join the success of Nance's color schemes to make his paintings a consistent and strong body of work.

 

In Gallery B Lloyd Skidmore III shows acrylics from a series called Phone Art, Etc. The majority of works are portraits of people he has never met, painted while he is on the phone with them. As he paints, the subject describes his or her surroundings and appearance.

 

All three exhibitions at the Theatre Art Galleries are up through February 21. Located in the High Point Theatre, 220 East Commerce Avenue in High Point, NC, the building is open Monday through Friday, noon -5pm or by appointment. Call 336/887-2137 for more information.

 

Amy Funderburk is an artist, teacher, writer, art critic, and exhibitions coordinator living in Winston-Salem, NC. She is also a Board Member of Associated Artists of Winston-Salem.

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