2019 North American Print Biennial

Boston Printmakers

Jewett Art Gallery and Jewett Hallway Galleries

Aug. 26 - Sept. 29, 2019

multiple people viewed from behind in front of a white gallery wall hung with prints of various sizes

In a veritable explosion of strong and evocative prints, this newest edition of the North American Print Biennial measures the climate of artists' concerns - and the temperature is heating up. Organized by The Boston Printmakers, an international printmaking organization based in Boston, this exhibition is one of the most noted major print reviews held across the entire U.S., and includes U.S., Canadian, and Cuban artists.

The Boston Printmakers invited respected curator Shelley Langdale to select the works. Langdale is the recently appointed Curator and Head of the Department of Modern Prints and Drawings at the National Gallery, and formerly Associate Curator of Prints at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Langdale reviewed 1700 prints and organized the exhibition of 105 artists. Langdale characterizes the works as having "an increased focus on divisive social, political, and cultural issues-- racism, immigration, climate change, and sexism-- heightened by escalated tensions in the current political climate... It is heartening to see, as represented here, a growing diversity of cultural references, ethnicity and gender represented in contemporary work that is more reflective of the U.S. population." Printmakers continue to play a vital role as voices of cultural change, following in a long history of dissemination of information and ideas through printed forms.

hanging layered fabric print with text on banner 'BIRTH OF A NATION' and imagery including a devil form holding a head, chains, confederate flag, KKK hoods, gavel, etc; at right is a close up image of the print

Birth of a Nation; Justyne Fischer, Washington D.C.; woodcut, voile; collection of the Boston Athenaeum

New this year, the "Advocacy Award" selected by Shelley Langdale recognizes a work that is based in social awareness. This inaugural prize was awarded to Justyne Fischer, whose work The Birth of a Nation, comprised of large relief prints on fabric, depicts the injustice of founding a nation on the labor of Black bodies. Meticulously carving and printing by hand, Fischer's woodcuts depart from the usual associations we make with traditional printmaking processes. Without the aid of a press she burnishes her compositions onto sheer fabric by hand. A printmaker and art educator in the Washington D.C. area since 1996, Fischer has served as a visiting artist at Drexel University, Michaelis School of Fine Art University of Cape Town, South Africa, and the Fine Art Department of the University of Maryland.

For more information about the 2019 North American Print Biennial, including a complete list of participating artists and images of included works, please view its exhibition page on The Boston Printmakers' website.

several people looking a salon-style hanging of framed prints on a gray fabric wall

white-gloved hands turning pages of a handmade artist's book with translucent pages, patterns in blue and yellow

white-glove hands holding open a handmade artist's book with black ink print of a bird that looks like a hooded crow

a person viewed from behind looking at a print diptych, white squiggly lines on dark purple; at right is a tall print in blues, orange, and yellow that looks like abstracted reeds reflecting in water

gray and black print of abstract circular and semi-circular forms with interior lines

Red Sails; James Boychuk-Hunter, Calgary, Alberta; etching, woodcut, chine-collé; collection of the Boston Public Library

streaky, hatched black ink woodcut on white of silhouetted people in a watery landscape with bare tree-like forms at the horizon and a densely textured sky

Tracking; Barbara Duval, Charleston, SC; woodcut

small white shelf with several stand-up prints of nude women in various colors, with intensely patterned halo-like circles around their heads and patterned arc-like forms coming out of each hip

The Maccabees; Linda Behar; woodcut, mixed media

man with his arm around a child viewed from behind, looking at prints installed on white gallery walls; at left is a large red and gold cross with black and white portraits inside it; at right is a print with American flag overlay and a tall black ink print of a machine gun sticking up out of a pile of books with a football helmet balanced on top of it

The Boston Printmakers

The Boston Printmakers, founded in 1947 by a small group of energetic students, is an international professional print alliance based in Boston. It offers the best of contemporary print media, supporting traditional print techniques as well as promoting printmaking in the expanded field of installation, performance, and time-based media. Interfacing with digital media, prints are well-positioned to play a cultural role in promoting justice and equity. The Boston Printmakers organization promotes public knowledge and understanding; it supports printmaking as both a traditional practice and an interdisciplinary field. Members are accomplished artists who are supportive of one another and eager to promote the work of emerging artists.

The Boston Printmakers mission is to further the exchange of ideas, to encourage excellence in contemporary print practices, and to promote visibility for artwork grounded in print media.

Visit their website to learn more.

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