Door County Style

“What IS a Print?” Speaker, Curator, Deborah Rosenthal explains the many printmaking methods artists use to create an original print.

Printmakers live in a land of line, texture, and detail. And many printmakers love the idea of narrative – telling a story, or parts of a story – to intrigue their audience. When visitors take a look at the new exhibition at the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, it won’t matter if they know what printmaking is about. Because the images pull a viewer right in to find out what is going on. Sixteen printmakers with ties to Wisconsin have their work included in the “Printmakers Invitational” exhibition which opened at the Miller Saturday, March 6. Eight of the artists live in Wisconsin; the other eight are scattered across the country from California to Ohio. Miller Art Museum curator Deborah Rosenthal will discuss “What IS a Print?” in the museum’s gallery Thursday, March 11 beginning at 10:30 am; the galleries open at 10 am and coffee will be available. The exhibit continues through April 20.

Curated by Miller staff Deborah Rosenthal and Michael Nitsch, the printmaking exhibit intentionally covers a wide slice of what printmakers are doing today. Wisconsin had the honor of renewing national interest in printmaking in the 20th century by building a world renowned printmaking program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The woodcuts and wood engravings of one of those influential Wisconsin artist/professors, Raymond Gloeckler of Portage, Wisconsin, can be seen in this exhibit (example right).

Door County artists Donna Brown and Hermke Timm have monotypes and intaglio prints in the show. Wisconsin artists Stephanie Copoulus-Selle (Waukesha), Toni Damkoehler (New Franken), Doug DeVinny (Racine), Bill Greider (Oshkosh), Caren Heft (Stevens Point), Gail D. Panske (Oshkosh), Larry Welo (Blue Mounds), and Chris Style (Green Bay), are also all featured.

One aspect of printmaking that continues to confuse the public is the difference between fine art prints and commercially printed reproductions. The explanation is both simple and complex, as the two groups may use the same technology, but to different purposes. Since this exhibit includes straightforward examples of many types of traditional printmaking – etching, engraving, mezzotint, stone lithography, and relief prints such as linoleum and woodcuts – gallery visitors can take a close look at the images that these earlier technologies produce and see for themselves what fine art prints look like. For anyone who loves texture, color, and paper, the surfaces these artists create are irresistible.

The second component of the show features fine art prints that use contemporary technologies. Photopolymer intaglio printing plates, computer generated models, and digital printers are all employed to create some of the exhibited images including the work of nationally known artist Janet Ballweg (Indianapolis). Printmaking can also be surprisingly dimensional as well as topical. Just take a look at Caren Heft’s artist books or Gail D. Panske’s references to our throw-away culture in her installations using discarded materials to create a “gift shop” of printmaking.

Whether someone is looking at the luxurious color mezzotint surfaces created by a master of the process Art Werger (Athens, OH), eight-color woodcuts by internationally celebrated wildlife artist Andrea Rich (Santa Cruz, CA), or masterworks of color lithography created by the hand of Wayne Kimball (Pleasant Grove, UT), this exhibition is a feast for the eye.

This exhibition is sponsored in part by Bob and Bonnie Hartmann and supported by the members of the Miller Art Museum, the city of Sturgeon Bay, and the county of Door. Further information is available from museum staff at 920.746.0707 or dmam@dcwis.com. Museum admission is free and fully accessible. Museum hours are Monday 10-8 pm, Tuesday through Saturday 10-5. Closed Sunday.

Continue Reading