Imprint and 528.0
Imprint: Print Educators of Colorado and 528.0 Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition
The Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities
6901 Wadsworth Boulevard, Arvada, CO 80003
January 16-May 10, 2020 (closed March 14-31, but reopening planned after; view online at Imprint and 528.0)
Jurors: Brandon Gunn, Karen Kunc, and Collin Parson
Admission: Free
Review by Jillian Blackwell
To celebrate Denver’s Month of Printmaking this March [1], the Arvada Center for the Arts and Humanities is the place to go if you want to see a dizzying assortment of prints. The two exhibitions on display, Imprint: Print Educators of Colorado and 528.0 Regional Juried Printmaking Exhibition, showcase works that demonstrate a plethora of printmaking techniques—many using a variety of materials outside of paper—and even include a few installation pieces. Everything from engraving, intaglio, and lithographs to screenprinting, woodcuts, and more are on display in these wide-ranging surveys. Imprint, on the second floor, presents 57 works by 32 printers who teach at the Arvada Center, the Art Students League of Denver, and colleges and universities across Colorado. 528.0, in the main gallery, features 77 works by 63 artists, all living within a 528-mile radius of Denver.
Patricia Branstead (from the Art Students League of Denver), Midnight, 2019, monotype. Image by Wes Magyar.
At one end of the spectrum, Imprint has decorative works like Patricia Branstead’s Midnight—a collection of three lamps and a wall hanging. Her confident and graphic monotypes make for beautiful, functional works of art. At the other end of the spectrum, the show includes an enigmatic conceptual work titled A WAIT THY AXIOM by Marina Eckler.
Marina Eckler (from the University of Colorado, Colorado Springs), A WAIT THY AXIOM, 2019, hand-waxed paper book. Image by Jillian Blackwell.
Eckler has created a striking piece by printing a collection of simple words in a small book composed of hand-waxed, semi-transparent paper. Viewers are invited to turn the pages and feel the waxen, thick paper. Each letter in the book is symmetrical along its midline and printed vertically, allowing the viewer to read the words first in one direction: “WAIT WHAT WAIT WHY,” then, as one turns the page, read the words through the paper in reverse: “WHY WAIT WHAT WAIT.” While all the works in Imprint display excellent printmaking skills, Eckler’s work stands out in particular for its exploration of a concept that goes beyond the bounds of craftsmanship and leaves the viewer wondering.
The larger 528.0 juried exhibit features a great deal of breadth and depth, highlighting many different techniques and with content ranging from traditionally representational to abstract and conceptual. Even if you know nothing about printmaking, this is an approachable show for everyone—a small portion of the gallery is devoted to a primer on the tools and techniques of printmaking. Throughout the large gallery there are many small works, but also multiple bigger installation pieces as well, including Stephanie Alaniz’s Insecurity Collective.
Stephanie Alaniz (from Emporia, Kansas), Insecurity Collective, 2019, modular photo screenprinted on both sides of 35 rolls of rice paper. Image by Jillian Blackwell.
Insecurity Collective is composed of numerous long pieces of rice paper hanging in a semicircle from the ceiling to the floor where they gather in a crumpled pile. Alaniz covered each piece of paper with multiple layers of words on both sides, screen-printed in a rainbow of colors. Such a mass of words is difficult to parse, though a few phrases float to the top that speak to an unknown person’s personal judgment of their own appearance, for example: “Oddly enough, I really enjoy my neck/neckline.” The rice paper rustles gently as air circulates through the room and its fragility links to the title itself. The piece has an arresting physical presence in the room, drawing the viewer to the back corner of the exhibition where it’s located.
Both Imprint and 528.0 feature an encyclopedic array of prints and printmaking techniques. One could easily spend an hour or more viewing the vast amount and variety of artwork on display. Make it a priority to support these local artists and see these shows. [2]
Jillian Blackwell is a Denver-based artist and art educator. She holds a BA in Fine Arts with a Concentration in Ceramics from the University of Pennsylvania. She is a preschool and elementary art teacher at a Montessori school.
[1] Sponsored and supported by local arts group Mo’Print.
[2] Contact the Arvada Center or visit their website to confirm the reopening of the gallery in April. View the two exhibitions online at Imprint and 528.0.
