One on One: A Survey of Contemporary Monotypes & Monoprints
Melissa Dvozenja-Thomas, Director, Development & Marketing, Arts Mid-Hudson
After the holiday season, I always find myself trying to get back to the basics of life. Circling back to eating well, getting more sleep, finding new creative outlets, balancing work and home life are all a part of this wholesome 360 degree attempt to refresh myself. Visual artists also find this in their own practice by going back to the basics of shape making and using the immediacy of printmaking. The first show of 2023 at The Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild is an ambitious contemporary monoprint and monotype show entitled, One on One: A Survey of Contemporary Monotypes & Monoprints where the artists, including sculptures and painters, have gone back to printmaking as a way to stimulate their art practice.
“Traveling Light: Sightseeing” by Jane Goldman is a 22x30” watercolor monotype created at Mixit Studios in Somerville Massachusetts. It depicts an almost dreamy night-time lightning storm with two viewers watching from on high. This piece is immediately striking to the viewer and when you learn more about the process in which the work is created, it’s even more intriguing. When you think of watercolors, you normally think of pale colors and a subtler impact on paper, but when they are worked on a plexiglass plate or a gel plate and ran through the press with wet paper - it reactivates a richness and depth of color.
Suanna Ronner’s “Shape Conversation II” is a 28x22” inked collatype of paper made at the Woodstock School of Art in Woodstock New York. Created by inking cardboard forms and moving them throughout the piece, Ronner also adds this intriguing element to each of the works by using acetate the pressure of the press makes the spontaneous mark the paper. Gregory Amenoff’s oil paint monotypes - created at Area 241 in Ruby, New York - explore the power of nature. Each piece investigates a variety of subject matters, things growing and expanding, as well as subterranean themes. Byrdcliffe’s new Director of Exhibitions and curator of the exhibit, Jen Dragon, believes it is important to acknowledge each studio where the works were created. Dragon states, “collaboration is really important. Sometimes it’s the technician who helps the artist solve problems.”
Other exhibiting artists in the show include Zoe Anderson, Christine Beneman, Gregory Crane, Ford Crull, Peggy Cyphers, Maxine Davidowitz, Katie deGroot, Mary Anne Erickson, MB Flanders, Deborah Freedman, Randy Garber, Michel Goldberg, Brandon Graving, Judy Harberl, Catherine Howe, Catherine Kernan, Jennifer Marhsall, Kate McGloughlin, Debra Olin, Eileen M. Power, Wendy Prellwitz, Rhoda Rosenberg, and Joanne Simone.
Although the process of creating monotypes or monoprints can be considered going back to the basics, there is something new and innovative that each artist adds to their work. Viewers will see references to materials they might use in everyday life and repurpose them to add new textures to the work. One on One: A Survey of Contemporary Monotypes & Monoprints is open Friday - Sunday from noon to 5:00 p.m. It’s the perfect time to get back to the basics and enjoy the beauty that can come from a fresh perspective.
If you go:
One on One: A Survey of Contemporary Monotypes & Monoprints
January 13th - February 26, 2023
Artists Reception: Saturday, January 21, 4:00 - 6:00 pm
Gallery Hours: Friday – Sunday, 12:00 – 5:00 pm
Woodstock Byrdcliffe Guild, 34 Tinker Street in Woodstock, NY.
https://bit.ly/1on1mono
(845) 679-2079
