Exhibition at PNCA’s Feldman Gallery Celebrates Collaborative Dance Between Printmaker and Artist
October 10, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2011
Contact:
Becca Biggs | Director of Communications
Pacific Northwest College of Art
bbiggs@pnca.edu 503 821 8892
Exhibition | Behind the Star: Prints from Derriere L’Etoile Studio from the Jordan D. Schnitzer Collection
Curated by Matthew Letzelter
November 3, 2011 – January 9, 2012
First Thursday Opening Reception
Thursday, November 3, 2011, 6 pm–8 pm
PACIFIC NORTHWEST COLLEGE OF ART
1241 NW Johnson Street, Portland, OR 97209
October 10, 2011 – PORTLAND, OR – This winter in the Feldman Gallery at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA), new Printmaking Department Chair Matthew Letzelter curates a selection of works from archives of the Jordan D. Schnitzer Collection and printed by Maurice Sanchez, the renowned founder and owner of Derriere L’Etoile Studios in New York City. For over thirty years, Sanchez’s collaborations with artists on technically challenging print works have established him as a preeminent professional printmaker and revealed the expressive and expansive range of printmaking techniques. The Behind the Star exhibition includes print works from some of Sanchez’s many successful collaborations, such as those by artists James Rosenquist, Donald Judd, Barbara Kruger, Robert Longo, John Baldessari, Red Grooms and Kara Walker.
The collaboration between artist and printmaker is often likened to a dance: the printmaker must keep in step with the artist, ensuring that artist always maintains control of the image, while simultaneously guiding them through the technical aspects of the printmaking process to create an original work of art.
While working as an assistant printmaker for Derriere L’Etoile Studios, curator Matthew Letzelter observed this dynamic in action: “I found that there were many dances and movements that you had to be prepared for when an artist entered the space.”
Over the past thirty years, Maurice Sanchez, the professional printmaker at Derriere L’Etoile Studios, has collaborated with artists on many large-scale works. The prints on display tell the story of long-lasting professional partnerships, such as the one Sanchez had with James Rosenquist, of the complex and refined processes required to print technically and artistically seamless works, as seen in the prints of Donald Judd and Barbara Kruger, and of innovation and evolution in the craft of printmaking, evident in the multi-layered, dimensional prints of Robert Longo. Today, Sanchez continues to work with a diverse group of artists to find new solutions to the daily challenges that develop out of collaborative efforts in the printmaking studio.
Behind the Star celebrates the collaborative nature of professional printmaking, offers glimpses into the community of artists that have been associated with Derriere L’Etoile Studios, and highlights the artistry of technique and process that goes into fine printmaking.
About Feldman Gallery + Project Space
The Philip Feldman Gallery + Project Space is dedicated to the work of national and international contemporary artists. Mounting six exhibits a year for eight-week runs, visiting artists are invited to lecture or participate in student workshops and studio visits, and each show culminates in a First Thursday opening and a Gallery Talk given by the artist and open to the public. Students participate in all aspects of the show, from details of curation to logistics of installation. Through Philip Feldman Gallery exhibitions and events, PNCA collaborates with other art institutions such as the Cooley Gallery at Reed College, and the Portland Institute for Contemporary Art.
About Pacific Northwest College of Art
Since its founding in 1909, Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) has become a leader in innovative educational programs that connect students to a global perspective in the visual arts and design. In addition to its nine Bachelor of Fine Arts degrees, PNCA offers graduate education with an MFA in Visual Studies, a Low-Residency MFA in Visual Studies, an MA in Critical Theory and Creative Research, and an MFA in Collaborative Design, as well as an MFA in Applied Craft and Design developed in collaboration with the Oregon College of Art and Craft.
PNCA is actively involved in Portland’s cultural life through exhibitions and a vibrant public program of lectures and internationally recognized visiting artists, designers and creative thinkers. With the support of PNCA+FIVE (Ford Institute for Visual Education), the College has a partnership with the nationally acclaimed Museum of Contemporary Craft. For more information, visit www.pnca.edu.