Legends and Legacy: Revolutions in Hand Papermaking
Artists includes in the exhibition:
Donald Baechler, Laurence Barker, Milcah Bassel, Willie Birch, Chuck Close, Gail Deery, Leonardo Drew, Maria Gutierrez, Daniel Heidkamp, Jonathan Lasker, Katherine Mojzsis, Roxy Paine, Juan Sanchez, Kate Shepherd, Jessica Stockholder, Barbara Takenaga, Mary Temple, Mickalene Thomas and Paul Wong.
Studios represented include:
The Brodsky Center at PAFA, Dieu Donné, PACE PRINTS
Legends and Legacy: Revolutions in Hand Papermaking, presents a rich selection of offerings illustrating the notable and vital
developments in the field of modern hand papermaking. The MFA program in Book Arts & Printmaking at the University of the Arts has long maintained national and international recognition in the disciplines of papermaking, printmaking and book arts due to its unique pedagogy and conceptuality, pioneering faculty, and the roles which its students assume upon entering the professional arena. As the current director of the program, my curatorial foundation for this exhibition was to frame in both a physical, historical and visual sense, the context of this art-making discipline as punctuated milestones chronicling its past. Legends and Legacy celebrates the achievements made by contemporary artists who are challenging and redefining themselves by experimenting in a medium previously unknown to many of them. Most remarkable are the professional studios which introduce these artists to the medium of hand papermaking and provide a fostering environment in which to create works that are technically and conceptually diverse; innovative and consistently flawless in craftsmanship; and above all true to each of the artists’ concept and vision.
Having previously worked as a collaborator at the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, now The Brodsky Center at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts [PAFA], and with a background rooted in printmaking and papermaking, I am extremely interested in presenting artists who challenge and defy the traditional notion of “works on or of paper.” The fluid sensibility of the material alone offers unlimited realizations as the foundation for encompassing a variety of techniques, processes, and aesthetics.
Much gratitude is also extended to the master printers, master papermakers, and collaborators— they are the catalysts without whom many of these works would not have transpired. Their skill, commitment to mutualism, and love for the medium are evident in the exceptional works presented in this exhibition. It remains my privilege to have worked professionally for, and with, many of these artists and studios over the years and I warmly thank each for their participation and support of this exhibition. Applause and adulation of Legends and Legacy: Revolutions in Hand Papermaking— are shared among each.
_Cynthia Nourse Thompson, Guest Curator
Donald Baechler, Laurence Barker, Milcah Bassel, Willie Birch, Chuck Close, Gail Deery, Leonardo Drew, Maria Gutierrez, Daniel Heidkamp, Jonathan Lasker, Katherine Mojzsis, Roxy Paine, Juan Sanchez, Kate Shepherd, Jessica Stockholder, Barbara Takenaga, Mary Temple, Mickalene Thomas and Paul Wong.
Studios represented include:
The Brodsky Center at PAFA, Dieu Donné, PACE PRINTS
Legends and Legacy: Revolutions in Hand Papermaking, presents a rich selection of offerings illustrating the notable and vital
developments in the field of modern hand papermaking. The MFA program in Book Arts & Printmaking at the University of the Arts has long maintained national and international recognition in the disciplines of papermaking, printmaking and book arts due to its unique pedagogy and conceptuality, pioneering faculty, and the roles which its students assume upon entering the professional arena. As the current director of the program, my curatorial foundation for this exhibition was to frame in both a physical, historical and visual sense, the context of this art-making discipline as punctuated milestones chronicling its past. Legends and Legacy celebrates the achievements made by contemporary artists who are challenging and redefining themselves by experimenting in a medium previously unknown to many of them. Most remarkable are the professional studios which introduce these artists to the medium of hand papermaking and provide a fostering environment in which to create works that are technically and conceptually diverse; innovative and consistently flawless in craftsmanship; and above all true to each of the artists’ concept and vision.
Having previously worked as a collaborator at the Rutgers Center for Innovative Print and Paper, now The Brodsky Center at Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts [PAFA], and with a background rooted in printmaking and papermaking, I am extremely interested in presenting artists who challenge and defy the traditional notion of “works on or of paper.” The fluid sensibility of the material alone offers unlimited realizations as the foundation for encompassing a variety of techniques, processes, and aesthetics.
Much gratitude is also extended to the master printers, master papermakers, and collaborators— they are the catalysts without whom many of these works would not have transpired. Their skill, commitment to mutualism, and love for the medium are evident in the exceptional works presented in this exhibition. It remains my privilege to have worked professionally for, and with, many of these artists and studios over the years and I warmly thank each for their participation and support of this exhibition. Applause and adulation of Legends and Legacy: Revolutions in Hand Papermaking— are shared among each.
_Cynthia Nourse Thompson, Guest Curator