The Enlightenment period in Europe (about 1685–1815), long celebrated as "the age of reason," adopted a revolutionary emphasis on individual liberty, direct observation, and rational thought. Enlightenment society prized learning and innovation, producing an unprecedented flowering of knowledge with major advances in fields as diverse as art, philosophy, politics, and science. Important thinkers of the time questioned long-held beliefs, instead using scientific reasoning to uncover new principles on which to base a modern society. Yet the Enlightenment ideals of truth and knowledge could also at times be used to promote subjective values and biases about marginalized peoples and their experiences.

During this same period, imagination became a hotly debated topic in Enlightenment circles. While some saw it as necessary to truth and innovation, others believed it was a dangerous temptation leading to immorality and vice. Artists in particular reveled in the power of the imagination to expose hidden truths, conjure strange worlds, or concoct illusions. François Boucher and Francisco de Goya, among others, drew on imagination to envision far-off places and people, attract new buyers for their art, and comment on society and its values. They blurred the boundaries of fact and fantasy often without distinguishing between the two. Imagination was a dynamic tool through which Enlightenment-era artists marketed their work, revealed or obscured truth, entertained or educated viewers, and supported or criticized systems of power.

Imagination in the Age of Reason explores the complex relationship between imagination and the Enlightenment’s ideals of truth and knowledge. Pulled from the CMA's rich holdings of European prints and drawings from the 1700s and early 1800s, the exhibition presents an exceptional opportunity to see exciting recent acquisitions on view for the first time as well as rarely shown collection highlights, including prints and drawings by Canaletto and Goya and a pastel portrait by Swiss artist Jean-Étienne Liotard.

Throughout their printed works, Glenn Ligon and Jasper Johns demand and disrupt the act of reading. Both artists frequently discompose the visual elements of language and communication: targets drip and letters smudge. Johns and Ligon exploit the processes of printing—which entail contact and separation, mirroring and reversals—to parse the distances between signs and their meanings, and also to address the mechanics of looking on the part of the spectator. This exhibition will feature etchings and lithographs by both artists as well as screenprints by Johns in the Davison Art Collection.
September 18 – December 11, 2024. CLOSED October 19–22; November 25 – December 2.

When Things Falling Apart: Group Show

Unparalleled in its monumental scale and ambitious technique, LaToya M. Hobbs’s Carving Out Time shows the Baltimore-based artist, wife, mother, and educator balancing her many priorities. Its five 8-by-12-foot scenes depict moments in a typical day for Hobbs, her husband Ariston Jacks, and their two children, ending with a self-portrait of Hobbs in her studio when she finally has time to create new work. Through this awe-inspiring glimpse into Hobbs’s routine, the series addresses universal themes of legacy, parenthood, and representation.

Hobbs originally created Carving Out Time as a set of carved wooden panels. Then, she printed the panels to produce a version of the series in woodcut. Currents 39 celebrates the Museum’s recent acquisition of the prints. It also marks the first occasion when the panels and prints will be exhibited together, offering the opportunity to marvel at Hobbs’s artistry in two forms.

Initiated in 1982, the Museum’s Currents exhibition series highlights new trends in contemporary art. Currents 39: LaToya M. Hobbs, Carving Out Time was curated by Nikki Otten, Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Milwaukee Art Museum.

Learn about Black Women of Print and the two portfolios published by the collective of printmakers in the Museum’s collection from founder Tanekeya Word. After the talk, join a behind-the-scenes viewing of the portfolios in the Herzfeld Photography, Print, and Drawing Study Center.

Event Lineup
5:30–6:15 p.m. | Reception with light refreshments in Baumgartner Galleria
6:15–6:45 p.m. | Artist Talk with Tanekeya Word in Lubar Auditorium
6:45–7:45 p.m. | Viewing of Black Women of Print portfolios Continuum and Lore: What We Were Told | What We Saw | What We Tell Ourselves. Space is limited for the viewing; reserve your spot by emailing community@mam.org by September 19.

About the Artist
Tanekeya Word creates multimedia visual art on paper—drawings, paintings, narrative forms, and fine art prints—that centers the everyday fantastical lives of Black women and girls. Presented in quotidian object scale, no larger than the human body, her works are serialized with focus on Black geographies, literature, material culture, and nature in harmony with the Black body.

Word is the founder of Black Women of Print, a homeplace for Black women printmakers. She holds a BA in English/Afro American Studies from Howard University and a MA in Arts Management from American University. Word is a doctoral student in Urban Education at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Word’s dissertation (2024) is entitled: Black Womanhood + Black Aesthetics in Art Education.

Tanekeya Word has participated in national exhibitions and her work is held in private and public collections such as Milwaukee Art Museum, The Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Getty Research Institute, etc.

The impact of Goya’s oeuvre and particularly of the Caprichos (1799) on nineteenth-century French art was immense, long lasting and multifaceted. Whereas in Spain Goya was associated with the work he produced as court painter, in France he became known as the author of the Caprichos, interpreted by the Romantics as a lampoon of late eighteenth-century Spain. This vision overlooked the fact that the true modernity of Goya’s work lies in its universalism, as a mirror reflecting the essence of humankind, unfettered by patriotism—this is also true of his monsters and witches, which are nothing more than the deformed reflection of humans. It could be argued that this was a two-way influence: Goya contributed to shape French Romantic art—and thus the beginning of modern art—and the Romantics in turn modelled his critical image. This study challenges the established interpretation of the Spanish artist that has dominated the scholarship until recently, based on Romantic stereotypes, many of which have been perpetuated to this day.

Goya became known in the French market—the main receptor of his work—through his graphic oeuvre. This was promoted by artists, critics and collectors such as Charles Yriarte, Paul Lefort and Eugène Piot, most of them in association with the Spanish artist and dealer Valentín Carderera. Goya’s influence can be divided into two broad categories: aesthetics and politics. On the one hand, artists of the Romantisme noir—focusing on the taste for the grotesque and the literary vision of Spain—saw Goya as the last representative of the Spanish School. On the other, the political impact of his work can be appreciated in the satirical prints produced by artists such as Honoré Daumier and J. J. Grandville, who held him to be a politically engaged caricaturist who fought against censorship and mocked the aristocracy and the clergy. The case of Eugène Delacroix offers the richest example of Goya’s impact on nineteenth-century French art, here backed up by a catalogue of forty of his copies after the Caprichos, some of them hitherto unpublished.

Balıkesir University Mail Print (BUMP) International Printmaking Exhibition, organized by Balıkesir University Faculty of Fine Arts Printmaking Department, was held for the first time in 2021. BUMP is derived from “Mail Art”. Mail art, which focuses on sending small-scale works through the mail, also known as mail art or letter art, has turned into a global art event as an artistic movement. The difference between Mail Print and Mail Art is that the works sent are produced using printing techniques. It consists of works printed on a surface and sent via mail. The printmaking's ability to be reproduced, produced in different sizes and easily transported allows them to be easily sent by post to anywhere in the world. BUMP creates an artistic sharing space between the audience and artists through printmaking, which by its nature can reach wider audiences. BUMP brings together printmaking artists from all over the world.
PARTICIPATION CONDITIONS
1- The topic has been determined as “Sea and Human”. 2- You can participate with a maximum of 2 works. 3- Paper size should not exceed A4. 4- Any printing technique can be used (except monoprint and photocopy) 5- The application deadline for participation has been determined as Friday, October 11, 2024. 6- All participants will be given an e-participation certificate. 7- An e-catalog will be made from the works selected by the jury. 8- The works sent are considered donated. Works will not be sent back. 9- Participation is free.
APPLICATION ADDRESS
Studies; BUMP-II will be sent to Balıkesir University, Faculty of Fine Arts, Department of Printmaking, Cagis Campus, 10145, BALIKESİR/ TURKEY.
Instagram: bump.baunmailprint E-Mail: baskisanatlari@balikesir.edu.tr
Exhibition Information: It can be followed at https://www.balikesir.edu.tr/site/birim/guzel-sanatlar-fakultesi-104353 , https://www.balikesir.edu.tr/site/duyuru/18211

The Turner is thrilled to host the 10-year anniversary edition of the Screenprint Biennial. Featuring the work of more than 20 contemporary artists from across the country, the Biennial highlights innovative approaches to screenprint today.

Artist Panel & Opening Reception
Join us for a conversation between Biennial founder and curator Nathan Meltz and visiting artist Sheila Goloborotko, whose installation Ecosistema is featured in the exhibition.

September 12, 5:30pm | Performing Arts Center Rm 134, California State University Chico
Reception to follow at the Turner

Biennial Artists: Ann Aspinwall; Tyanna Buie; Myles Calvert; Dadisi Curtis Jr.; Jeffrey Dell; J. Leigh Garcia; Matthew Willie Garcia; Sheila Goloborotko; John Hitchcock; Matthew Hopson-Walker; Mark Hosford; Sophie Isaak; Travis Janssen; The Little Friends of Printmaking; Taryn McMahon; Dana Potter; Power Washer Zine; Nicholas H. Ruth; Mizin Shin; Lenore Thomas; Tonja Torgerson & Christa Carleton

Danielle Orchard: Tender Observer showcases lithographs made by Orchard at Tamarind Institute from 2019 to 2022. Every work in Tender Observer marks a specific moment in Orchard’s life, celebrating the inspirations that fueled her during each residency. This intimate connection between the artist’s experiences and her ongoing exploration of printmaking imbues Tender Observer with a profound sense of storytelling and emotional resonance. All the work created across three residencies was made in collaboration with Tamarind Master Printer Valpuri Remling. This partnership informs the work and points to a shared language between artist and printer.

The exhibition is open and free to the public, Tues-Fri, 10am to 5pm. Opening reception Friday, August 23, 5-7pn, with curator walk-through at 5:30pm. On view until December 20, 2024.

The Amache Preservation Society has completed a website detailing the history of its silkscreen workshop as part of the project supported by the Collaboration Grant from the Association of Print Scholars. Check out the project at the link below.