The Art of Printmaking Opens at the Miller

“Island Farm,” monotype, etching ink, cold wax, by Donna Brown.

Printmakers live in a land of line, texture, and detail. And many printmakers love the idea of narrative – telling a story, or parts of a story – to intrigue their audience. When visitors take a look at the new exhibition at the Miller Art Museum in Sturgeon Bay, it won’t matter if they know what printmaking is about because the images pull a viewer right in to find out what is going on.

Sixteen printmakers with ties to Wisconsin have their work included in the “Printmakers Invitational” exhibition, which opens at the Miller Art Museum on Saturday, March 6 with a public reception from 3 – 4:30 pm where many of the artists will be present. Eight of the artists live in Wisconsin; two reside in Door County; and the other eight are scattered across the country from California to Ohio.

“Grovelin’ in da Goodie,” linoleum relief print, by William Greider a.k.a. Huey.

Curated by Miller staff Deborah Rosenthal and Michael Nitsch, the printmaking exhibit intentionally covers a wide slice of what printmakers are doing today. Since this exhibit includes straightforward examples of many types of traditional printmaking – etching, engraving, mezzotint, stone lithography, and relief prints such as linoleum and woodcuts – gallery visitors can take a close look at the images that these earlier technologies produce and see for themselves what fine art prints look like. For anyone who loves texture, color, and paper, the surfaces these artists create are irresistible.

The second component of the show features fine art prints that use contemporary technologies. Photopolymer intaglio printing plates, computer generated models, and digital printers are all employed to create some of the exhibited images, including the work of nationally known artist Janet Ballweg (Indianapolis).

“The Farce,” mezzotint 4-color intaglio print, by Janet Ballweg.

Printmaking can also be surprisingly dimensional as well as topical. Just take a look at Caren Heft’s artist books or Gail D. Panske’s references to our throw-away culture in her installations using discarded materials to create a “gift shop” of printmaking.

Miller Art Museum curator Deborah Rosenthal will discuss “What IS a Print?” in the museum’s gallery Thursday, March 11 beginning at 10:30 am. The gallery will open at 10 am and coffee will be available.

“Looking Glass,” color etching and drypoint, by Larry Welo.

This exhibition is sponsored in part by Bob and Bonnie Hartmann and supported by the members of the Miller Art Museum, the city of Sturgeon Bay, and the county of Door. The exhibit continues through April 20.

Museum admission is free and fully accessible. Museum hours are: Monday 10 am – 8 pm; Tuesday through Saturday 10 am – 5 pm; closed Sunday. For more information call 920.746.0707, email [email protected] or visit http://www.millerartmuseum.org.