Savoring Printed Matters

 

Savoring Printed Matters

 

Azure Chrysalis, by Lauren Kussro

Urban Panorama #2, by Cynthia Back

You...I Met In The Rain, by Meryl Engler

Sensory Memory 05, by Jayoung Yoon

Pinaskiw - Butterfly Dancer, by Linda Whitney

   “Considering that this exhibition would be on view at a university, I wanted to offer viewers not only inclusivity, but also amazing examples of printmaking and its trajectory… and it has been my experience that women are the commanding force in this field.”  - Erica Criss, curator 

   Exhibit: Women’s Printmaking Invitational 2022 / Presented by Rubber City Prints and hosted by Kent State University at Stark /  Curated by Erica Criss / in The William J. and Pearle F. Lemmon Visiting Artist Gallery, Fine Arts building at Kent State University at Stark / 6000 Frank Avenue NW, North Canton, OH / Exhibition Dates: February 9 - March 4, 2022 / Gallery Hours: Monday - Friday 11;00am - 5:00pm

Participating Artists: Amy Silberkleit ◾ Angela Pilgrim ◾ Anita Hunt ◾ Beth Fein ◾ Beth Ganz ◾ Bridget O’Donnell ◾ Cynthia Back ◾ DeAnn Prosia ◾ Jayne Reid Jackson ◾ Jayoung Yoon ◾ Jency Sekaran ◾ Jennifer Mack Watkins ◾ Joan Dix Blair ◾ Karin Bruckner ◾ Kathy Caraccio ◾ Katie Commodore ◾ Kirsten Flaherty ◾ Kristie Valentine ◾ Lauren Kussro  ◾ Linda Whitney ◾ Meryl Engler ◾ Nandini Chirimar ◾ Phyllis Trout ◾ Robin Dintiman ◾ Taryn McMahon ◾ Trisha Gupta ◾ Valerie Dillon ◾ Veronica CeCi

   For its extraordinary depth of thematic content, its sheer diversity of pictorial styles, and exquisitely executed craft, this important group show is an altogether stunning – make that sublime - aesthetic experience. I think all of you would be the richer for seeing it, the poorer for missing it.

  The words in the remainder of this post are re-printed from the Rubber City Prints, Inc. web site:

https://www.rubbercityprints.org/wpi-2022

​   Rubber City Prints is excited to launch the Women’s Printmaking Invitational (WPI) 2022, hosted by Kent State University at Stark. Now, more than ever, women command the fine art printmaking field and deserve to have their unique perspectives showcased. The goal of this exhibition is to highlight women printmakers and give them a space to connect and support each other. Their voices may express a diverse range of imagery, content, and processes, but they are united by their shared experience of being a woman in the once male-dominated world of printmaking.

   Rubber City Prints was started by a group of women printmakers from Kent State University who were about to lose their studios because they would be graduating. It was their goal, and RCP’s mission, to offer local artists the facilities and opportunities needed for the art community to thrive in downtown Akron, Ohio.

   We are excited to have Erica Criss, an original founder of RCP and MFA graduate of Kent State University, as our curator for this exhibition. For the past 10 years, Criss has worked in New York City in the non-profit art sector across functions such as program development, operations, exhibition development, and fundraising. She has produced dozens of exhibitions, nationally and internationally, most notably, the NY International Miniature Print Exhibition and the Print Effect: Small Works/Big Impact. Criss also curated Divergent Ink at Rubber City Prints. She continues to support artists and nonprofits through her consulting business, CRISS Collaborations.

                                                  Curator’s Statement

   I am honored to present the first iteration of the Women’s Printmaking Invitational 2022. A printmaker myself, I have had the opportunity to work with many artists from Ohio to New York and it has been my experience that women are the commanding force in this field.

   In order to more accurately represent the full breadth of contemporary printmaking, I deliberately chose a diverse group of artists who work in a variety of different processes, methods, and themes. They come from different backgrounds, communities, and career levels offering an array of perspectives. Considering that this exhibition would be on view at a university, I wanted to offer viewers not only inclusivity, but also amazing examples of printmaking and its trajectory.

   Many of these artists have developed their own methods and techniques or became masters in their chosen process. Some have been lifelong educators and mentors while others are at the beginning of their careers. Within the diversity of the group, common threads emerge. The selected artists express the importance of our connection to nature, speak to social injustices, personal narratives, and to the printmaking process itself. It is here where connections are made and I aim to use this opportunity to facilitate those connections amongst the artists.

- Erica Criss