Nathan Meltz


Collapse, 2020

Screenprinted 1980s dot-matrix paper

4 x 4 x 6 feet

$800

"Usually, my work entails fancy technologies and tools like lasers and large-format printers, or pricey materials like fancy rag paper. With the onset of the pandemic, many of these became unavailable or would have put someone at risk to acquire them, so I decided to work with whatever materials I had in my studio at the time of shutdown. I found various screenprint image positives and a dusty, 40-year-old ream of 1980s dot-matrix printer paper. Inspired by these materials, I tell the story of technological and systemic collapse, reflecting not only the collapse of our society happening during pandemic, but also my own emotional and social anguish, loss, and despair. Through this work, I seek to bring beauty, meaning, and clarity to these confusing times.

Nathan Meltz uses printmaking, animation, sculpture, and performance to comment on the infiltration of technology into every facet of life, from politics and food, to family and war. His solo exhibitions include Southern Illinois University’s Vergette Gallery, GRIDSPACE (NYC), the University of Floridam, Jacksonville’s Andrew Brest Gallery, and Noise Gallery (OH). His international exhibitions include the International Print Center New York, the Trois-Rivières International Printmaking Biennial, Canada, the Museum of Modern Art in Rio De Janiero, Brazil, and more. His art has been featured in publications including Art in Print, Printeresting, and the Mid America Print Council Journal. His series “Strangling the Fascist Viper” has received juror awards from the Louisiana International Printmaking Exhibition and the Political Impressions exhibition at the Rochester Institute of Technology, the Printworks Award from Artists Image Resource, Pittsburgh PA, and the Prix de Print award from Art in Print Magazine. His current body of research involving ecologies has included an article published in the California Society of Printmakers Journal and exhibition in the Four Rivers Printmaking Biennial, where he was awarded an honorable mention award. Meltz is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of the Arts at the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, New York, and is the founder and curator of the Screenprint Biennial.