February 7 – March 14, 2013

The University Art Gallery is pleased to present “East/West: A Survey of Contemporary Printmaking” from February 7 to March 14, 2013. The opening reception is Thursday, February 7, from 6 to 9 pm, with an introduction to the East/West Portfolio by printmaker and UMass Dartmouth faculty member Marc St. Pierre at 7 pm. The following Thursday, February 14, 2013, the gallery will offer demonstrations of printmaking techniques from 6 to 8 pm. Visitors will get experience with several printmaking techniques, creating a small Valentine print to take with them. This event will take place on AHA! Night (downtown New Bedford’s monthly celebration of culture and the arts held every second Thursday).

“East/West: A Survey of Contemporary Printmaking” is a printmaking portfolio that reflects and celebrates the pluralistic existence of printmaking practice and printmaking education in the United States. This portfolio showcases 100 of the most prominent printmakers/educators representing every state in the USA. Unlike most portfolios, this project asked participating artists not to respond to a certain theme but rather to express their current image-making techniques and conceptual concerns. The result is a portfolio of diverse prints that embrace and celebrate the traditional and alternative printmaking techniques found in lithography, intaglio, woodcut, silkscreen, archival pigment, hybrid, intaglio types, and photo-relief prints.

The artists featured in the “East/West: A Survey of Contemporary Printmaking” portfolio were chosen based upon their long and distinguished careers as both artists and teachers practicing the art of printmaking in a fashion coined from the tradition of the major mid-west universities in the 1960’s – “the artist/teacher in residence.”

This portfolio celebrates these artists as innovators for their continued development of the printmaking medium and their own unique artistic visions as evidenced by their work and continued success as educators. These printmakers have had and continue to have a dramatic impact on printmaking education, their institutions, and printmaking workshops.

The book “The Printmaking Bible: The Complete Guide to Materials and Techniques,” by Ann d'Arcy Hughes and Hebe Vernon-Morris will be available for viewing for the duration of the exhibition at the University Art Gallery.