"Stop the Presses: Graphic Art in a New Light" is a new exhibit that will open at St. Thomas Oct. 1 in the Lobby Gallery of O'Shaughnessy Educational Center on St. Thomas' St. Paul campus. The exhibit will run through Thursday, Nov. 11.
The gallery is open 9 a.m. to 10 p.m. Mondays through Saturdays and noon to 9 p.m. Sundays.
"Hollyhock," by "Stop the Presses" artist Nan Kaufenberg.
"Graphic art is an art form that still puzzles many people," said Dr. Michelle Nordtorp-Madson, curator of the exhibit. So puzzling, in fact, that Nordtorp-Madson, who also is the university's chief curator, has heard "'graphic' art defined as the unseemly kind, as in R-rated movies," she muses. "The eight artists in this exhibit work in the fine arts, creating original print work in nearly all graphic processes, including relief prints of wood and linoleum; intaglio etchings and engravings; and lithograph and stencil."
"It is particularly important to remember that, with colored prints, there has to either be an individual plate or block for each color, or the work has to be hand-colored. In either case, each print is a multiple original and not a copy," Nordtorp-Madson adds.
The public is welcome to the free exhibit, featuring works by graphic artists with local ties: Roberta Allen, Betsy Bowen, James Boyd Brent, Nan Kaufenberg, Christopher Nelson, Faye Passow, Anna Marie Pavlik and Ed Steinhauer, all of whom help to highlight the rich artistic culture of the Upper Midwest.
The public is welcome to the gallery for a free reception for the artists from 5 to 9 p.m. Friday, Oct. 15. That evening guests also are welcome to visit eight other local college and university art exhibits between 5 and 9 p.m. at the seventh annual College Art Gallery Collaborative Fall Art Tour.
This exhibit is offered in conjunction with the Mid-America Print Council Conference.
For more information, call St. Thomas' Art History Department, (651) 962-5560.
