Sustained Ingrain: Contemporary Woodcuts from East to West

June 1, 2018 – November 3, 2018(This exhibition has passed.)

How is it possible that the oldest method of making prints, one that emerged in China during the first millennium, is still a rich, viable and relevant option for printmaking today? Why has such a basic process historically sustained itself in the face of constantly emerging and changing technologies?

For many, a simple block of wood, long associated with craft traditions in both the East and West, emerges as the ultimate, natural antithesis to ‘hi-tech’ methodologies that seem to negate the hand. It is the ingrained, natural beauty and sensual materiality that perfectly lends itself to the meditative act of cutting and carving – material that is so inherently connected to the environment of planet Earth.

This exhibition, aptly entitled, “Sustained Ingrain”, features twelve artists from China, and twelve artists from North America. Diverse in its range of cultural context, creative vision, and innovative process, each artist works extensively in the enduring, wild and wonderful medium of woodcut.

This featured portfolio of woodcut prints was initially conceived to parallel the theme of the 2018 Southern Graphics Council International (SGCI) annual printmaking conference: “Altered Landscapes”. Each of the twenty-four invited artists was free to interpret the concept of “altered landscape” based on their personal and/or cultural context. Taken literally or interpreting this idea in the broadest sense, issues of sustainability, climate change, environmental/cultural degradation, social justice and globalization were issues open to examination.

Each artist created an edition of 28, 16×20”, signed and numbered woodcuts prints on archival paper. These prints were collated and boxed with each participating artist receiving a set of twenty-four prints. The remaining four portfolios have been donated to various museum archives in China and the United States.

The inaugural exhibition of this portfolio opened in Las Vegas, NV, site of the 2018 SGCI Conference. This work will subsequently travel to various venues throughout China.