VARIABLE STATES: PRINTS NOW

March 3 – April 9, 2016
First Thursday reception March 3, 6:00 to 8:00pm
Brenna Murphy and Alyson Provax in conversation Saturday, April 2 at 2:00pm

THE WORK
This group exhibition considers the intersection of printmaking and technology: how technology is integrated into traditional practice, and how it can expand print beyond those boundaries. Printmakers' focus on process and creative problem-solving often leads to hybrid, experimental production methods that integrate new technologies. Variable States: Prints Now features artworks from eight contemporary artists who either identify printmaking as a significant part of their practice, or use printmaking technologies to produce works typically categorized as other media. Works in this exhibition span a range of processes, from letterpress to 3D printing, used to produce moving image works, sculpture, installation, and works on paper.

THE ARTISTS
Janet Ballweg (b. 1961, Wisconsin) focuses on constructions of memory and experience that address issues of power and vulnerability, private and shared space, and presence and  absence. She holds a BS in Art from the University of Wisconsin, Madison and an MFA from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. She currently teaches at Bowling Green State University, OH.

Blake Carrington (b. 1980, Indiana) uses custom software systems to make inkjet paintings and video installations, and co-founded the collaborative silkscreen print label, Personal Desire Propaganda. Notable solo exhibitions took place at the Contemporary Art Center in New Orleans and CUAC in Salt Lake City. Carrington received a Jerome Foundation Travel Study Grant and is a NYFA Fellow. He lives and works in Brooklyn, NY.

Edwige Charlot (b. 1987, Paris, France) emigrated to the United States at the age of 9. Her works combine printmaking, painting and drawing, often reflecting her Haitian heritage in color, energy, and content. She holds a BFA in printmaking from the Maine College of Art. Charlot's awards include a St. Botolph Club Foundation Emerging Artist award and a Maine Arts Commission Good Idea Grant. She lives and works in Portland, ME.

Brenna Murphy (b. 1986, Washington) uses intricate patterns and repetition in her multimedia work. Murphy received her BFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art in Portland, OR. Notable exhibitions include the Kunstvarein Düsseldorf (Germany), Yerba Buena Center (CA), Eyebeam (NY), and as a Rhizome commission. Murphy collaborates with Birch Cooper as MSHR, an audio-visual performance art project.


Alyson Provax (b. 1984, California) received her BFA in Printmaking from PNCA in Portland, OR, where she continues to live and work. Provax is interested in the subjectivity of time, of wasting time and the feeling of repeating oneself, and of the simple yet powerful moments of realizing that you are living in a delicate body in a shifting environment. She works primarily with silkscreen monotype and letterpress processes.

Paul Soulellis (b. 1968, New York) is a New York-based artist, designer and publisher. Soulellis explores experimental publishing and network culture. He founded Library of the Printed Web, a physical archive devoted to web-to-print artists’ books, zines and other printout matter. Soulellis graduated from the College of Architecture, Art and Planning at Cornell University. He is a contributing editor at Rhizome and teaches at RISD.

Krista Svalbonas (b. 1977, Pennsylvania) is a mixed-media artist based in Chicago. She holds a BFA in photography and design from Syracuse University and an MFA from SUNY New Paltz. Influenced by urban environments, Svalbonas focuses on spatial relationships and architecture. Residencies include Bemis, Cooper Union, Vermont Studio Center, and the New Arts Program. She is currently a lecturer in photography at Columbia College, IL.

Sang-Mi Yoo (b. 1968, Seoul, South Korea) explores notions of ideal home through print-media installations. Honors include a 2014 AHL Foundation's Visual Arts Prize, the 2012 Seacourt Print Workshop Artist-in-Residence and a 2010 Puffin Foundation Artist Grant. Yoo has exhibited in the US, New Zealand and South Korea, and is an Associate Professor of Art at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, TX.