Creating Impressions: Printmaking in the Northwest opens August 24 at the High Desert Museum. Rick Bartow, Dale Patrick Chihuly, Morris Graves, Mark Tobey and Marie Watts are just a few of the famous names behind the fine art prints in a new art exhibition at the High Desert Museum.
The exhibit will showcase more than 50 modern and contemporary fine art prints and the intricate processes involved in making such work. In printmaking circles, creativity and technical acumen coexist. The form requires a level of technical skill and understanding not found in other media.
“There are many different techniques that fall under the banner of printmaking, all of which require a unique combination of artistic flare and technical skill,” said Faith Powell, Curator of Exhibitions and Collections at the High Desert Museum. “Our goal with this exhibition is to highlight those overlooked printmaking processes while featuring modern and contemporary art from the Northwest. It’s going to be a fascinating study of the form and function of printmaking.”
The exhibition is divided into four sections that will allow visitors to explore numerous printmaking techniques:
- Relief prints, including woodcuts and linocuts.
- Silkscreened prints.
- Intaglio prints, including etchings and engravings.
- Planographic prints, including lithographs and monotypes.
By looking at tools and equipment used for printmaking, alongside the fine art prints, visitors will gain a greater understanding of modern and contemporary aesthetics that draw from a range of artistic processes.
The featured artwork dates back to the 1940s and is on loan from the Jordon Schnitzer Family Foundation Collection. “We’re very lucky to have access to this extraordinary collection of prints,” Powell said. “Many of these artists have made names for themselves in other media, such as Chihuly with glass art and Mark Tobey with painting. This is a rare opportunity, to see their work in this medium.”
Support for the exhibition and related educational and outreach programs has been made possible by a grant from the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation. Additional support from James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation.