Ann Shafer The end of a fair is always bittersweet. One is exhausted both physically and mentally, and yet, you want it to never end. The adrenaline is followed by such a let-down. If you’ve been following along, you know that I ran the Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair in its final three iterations (2012, 2015, 2017). For the first two of these I worked alongside the indomitable and amazing Ben Levy. He brought his remarkable brain, knowledge, and know-how to the enterprise. For the final iteration, I worked with the indefatigable and fabulous Morgan Dowty. Her quiet strength and constancy amazed me. And the fairs would not have happened without them. Thank you both. Running a fair is not for the faint of heart. But in the same way your love of a newborn baby makes you forget the pain of childbirth, the buzz of the fair long outlasts the exhaustion and sore feet. I always say it was the most fun part of the job. And I still mean it. It was an honor getting to know the dealers, publishers, and artists, just as it was meaningful to walk friends and collectors around and point out things I particularly liked both for me and for the museum’s collection. And that’s the great thing about prints, isn’t it? That one can have the same work of art that is in a museum collection. I love spreading the love. Today is the final day of these Curator’s Choice posts from the #LondonOriginalPrintFair, and while it takes a lot of work to select and gather the images and tombstone information (not to mention writing these mini-blurbs), its conclusion is bittersweet. I hope the cornucopia of images have inspired you to look more, buy something, make something. For that is always my goal: to engage an audience and show them the wonders of prints and printmaking. Until the next fair, this is your friendly print evangelist signing off. Please enjoy day 5/5 of offerings from the #LondonOriginalPrintFair. Today we finish up with R (Rebecca Hossack Art Gallery) through Z (Zuleika Gallery). Here is #LondonOriginalPrintFair Curator's Choice, 5/5. #prints #printmaking #printfair #curatorschoice #contemporaryprintmaking #contemporaryart #woodcut #relief #colorprints #printing #womenartists #collectart #artcollector #supportlivingartists #loveart #masterprinter #art #saga #societyofamericangraphicartists #nonobjectiveart #abstractart #londonoriginalprintfair #royalacademy #ifpda #etching #engraving #monotype #screenprint #lithograph #printevangelist #baltimorecontemporaryprintfair
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Ann Shafer As a curator, I instinctively judge the evenhandedness of any group of objects and assess how many of the works are by women artists, artists of color/BIPOC (a newish acronym meaning Black, Indigenous, People of Color), and queer artists. This is much more easily done with contemporary works. Old Master prints, as you know, are a whole other thing. The London fair gets fairly high marks for its gender inclusivity, but less so with racial diversity among the artists presented. I find it curious. And I have no answer as to why that might be. I’ll leave that right here for today. Please enjoy day 4/5 of offerings from the #LondonOriginalPrintFair. As always, these are presented alphabetically by dealer meaning the order is random, which I quite enjoy. Today we start with L (Loft 11 Gallery) and go through R (RAW Editions). Here is #LondonOriginalPrintFair Curator's Choice, 4/5. #prints #printmaking #printfair #curatorschoice #contemporaryprintmaking #contemporaryart #woodcut #relief #colorprints #printing #womenartists #collectart #artcollector #supportlivingartists #loveart #masterprinter #art #saga #societyofamericangraphicartists #nonobjectiveart #abstractart #londonoriginalprintfair #royalacademy #ifpda Ann Shafer Recently, my friend Laura Albans challenged me to write about what I think makes a print great. In short, it came down to visual impact and emotional impact. Today, Laura asked me if I would name my favorite technique. If you’ve been following along, you know that I have looked at, researched, written about, and spoken about Stanley William Hayter and Atelier 17 for close to fourteen years. And you’ll know that Atelier 17 was primarily an intaglio studio. So there is your answer. I love a good scrumpy, tactile etching, engraving, drypoint, whathaveyou. I love the platemark mark. I love flipping a print over and seeing the back is just as interesting as the front. I love the objectness of them. I love the amount of planning, patience, and care they require. I love how the ink stands proud on the paper, the depth of the blacks, the variety of marks attainable through aquatint and softground etching. I love that they can be delicate and rough, crisp and feathery, light and dark. I love that in the inking of the plate one can vary the results so widely. Of all the techniques, it seems to me intaglio may well be the most versatile. After intaglio, I would have to go with relief. I love a good Durer apocalyptic woodcut, an expressionist print by Kirchner, Heckel, or Kollwitz, an elegant wood engraving by Asa Cheffetz or Clare Leighton, a linoleum cut by Charles White, or contemporary woodcuts by Chitra Ganesh, Yashua Klos, Tom Huck, or Raj Bunnag. Woodcuts seem so hale and hearty, and I love the strength and patience required in carving. I also love that they can be printed on a press, with a steamroller, or a wooden spoon. Please enjoy day 2/5 of offerings from the www.londonoriginalprintfair.com. Remember these are presented alphabetically by dealer meaning the prints will appear in a rather random order. Today we start with C (Clemens Büntig) and go through G (Gerrish Fine Art). Here is #LondonOriginalPrintFair Curator's Choice 2/5. #prints #printmaking #printfair #curatorschoice #contemporaryprintmaking #contemporaryart #woodcut #relief #colorprints #printing #womenartists #collectart #artcollector #supportlivingartists #loveart #masterprinter #art #saga #societyofamericangraphicartists #nonobjectiveart #abstractart #londonoriginalprintfair #royalacademy #ifpda Ann Shafer Oh my goodness gracious, just as I was finishing up my curator's choice posts from the #WestCoastPrintFair, another fair went live online. The London Original Print Fair offers sixty plus dealers and their inventories of terrific prints. In the face of all those wonderful prints, who am I to not do more posts. This is the first of five posts featuring works from the various dealers at the London fair, which I have never been to. That makes this online version so great. There are so many galleries here that don’t often come to the New York fairs. The dealers range from Old Masters to Contemporary; there is something for everyone. Please enjoy this first group of offerings from the www.londonoriginalprintfair.com. As was the case last week, these are presented alphabetically by dealer meaning the prints will appear in a rather random order. Today we start with A (Advanced Graphics) and go through C (CG Boerner). Here is #LondonOriginalPrintFair Curator's Choice, 1/5. #prints #printmaking #printfair #curatorschoice #contemporaryprintmaking #contemporaryart #woodcut #relief #colorprints #printing #womenartists #collectart #artcollector #supportlivingartists #loveart #masterprinter #art #saga #societyofamericangraphicartists #nonobjectiveart #abstractart #londonoriginalprintfair #royalacademy #ifpda |
Ann's art blogA small corner of the interwebs to share thoughts on objects I acquired for the Baltimore Museum of Art's collection, research I've done on Stanley William Hayter and Atelier 17, experiments in intaglio printmaking, and the Baltimore Contemporary Print Fair. Archives
February 2023
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