I was lucky to be part of the Nashville Print Revival,  a symposium and celebration of printmaking in and around Nashville, TN from February 21-23, 2013. These photos are of my printmaking demonstrations at Belmont University, Midwest Pressed at Vanderbilt University, and the Open Portfolio Event at the print revival. Many thanks to Belmont University, Orange Barrel Industries and Jessica Owings for welcoming me to this special event.

Nashville’s print scene is quite impressive. Thanks for print revival hosts Platetone, Hatch Show Print, Watkins College of Art, Vanderbilt University and Belmont University.

Res by Laura Berman

& Live Printing with Midwest Pressed

Reception with Laura Berman & Midwest Pressed Thursday, February 21, 5:00-7:00pm

Artist Talk with Laura Berman on Wednesday, February 20, 10:00am

Exhibition Remains on View February 18 – April 5, 2013

In conjunction with the Nashville Print Revival, the Department of Art presents the print-installation works by the Kansas City-based artist Laura Berman with live printing by the collaborative duo, Midwest Pressed. The collaborative team will be printing in fast paced collage fashion, screenprinting on vintage album covers and responding to printed ephemera gleaned from vinyl bargain bins in thrift shops across the Nation.  Barry Manilow’s face and Herb Alpert’s Tijuana Brass are not safe!  Look out Captain and Tennille, a healthy dose of screenprinted goodness is coming your way.  Each album cover will be printed on until it is deemed complete, paired to it’s destiny as an ‘original artwork’.

For the complete Nashville Print Revival Schedule please visit:

http://www.orangebarrelindustries.com/nashvilleprintrevival/schedule.html

My friend Yoonmi Nam wrote an article about visiting my studio on Printeresting.org. I love her portrait of my creative space!

Link to article here

Color Schooled

1234 ninth st nw | washington, dc 20001 | 202.232.4788 | longviewgallery.com

show dates
November 1 – December 31
opening reception
Thursday, November 1
6:30 – 8:00pm

Color Schooled presents six contemporary artists whose work shows influence by the Washington Color School, Washington D.C.’s most well known contribution to art history.

The Washington Color School originated as a group of painters showing together at an exhibit titled “Washington Color Painters” in 1965. Putting their own twist on the budding genre of Color Field painting that started in the 1940’s and 1950’s, this new form of abstract expressionism looked to rid itself of unnecessary subtext and context and instead let color and shape speak to the artists’ intention. The defining work of the artists in the Washington Color School was characterized by fields of single color, stripes, geometric shapes and washes, focused on the flat surface of the canvas and eliminating gesture, reducing their art to pure modernist forms.

 
The influence of the Washington Color School on the artists in Color Schooled is undeniable. The famous stripes of Gene Davis are explored in the works of Gian Garofalo, Robert Stuart and Martina Nehrling while Betty Cleeland references the circular rhythms of Alma Thomas. J. Jordan Bruns’ overlapping fields of color are reminiscent of Morris Louis’ veil paintings and Laura Berman’s unique relief monoprints employ bold, geometric shapes much like Paul Reed.

 
While the Washington Color School stylistically influences the artists in Color Schooled, they also inspire their willingness to explore alternative mediums and methods. The Washington Color School artists benefitted from the advent of acrylic paints. They perfected the method of thinning these paints to stain unprimed canvases. The artists in Color Schooled continue to investigate in medium and style, employing paints, resin, wax and other contemporary materials while working in a range of methods, on panel, canvas, and paper. The pioneering work of the Washington Color School has inspired artists for decades both stylistically and methodically. Their willingness to experiment allowed for an openness and freedom artists continue to benefit from today.