Out of Print: Pushing the Boundaries in the Art of Print

The body of work in this exhibit serves as an example that there are many printers today who go outside the medium and may also use it to display atypical subject matter.

Printing is one of the oldest forms of art. Woodblock printing was the first to develop as early as 220 A.D. in China. From this point, printing evolved into many forms, most memorably by way of the invention of the printing press around 1440 that served as the most efficient way to educate the masses through newspapers and books.  And yet, in all this time, the medium is still relevant, but more important, artists are finding new ways with which to use old methods.

This exhibition showcases a handful of artists who are reshaping the old ways into new on multiple levels. One exemplar of this is Ravi Zupa’s “Stike Everywhere” series. Zupa did not use a linoleum block typical to a printing press, but a traffic cone that had been flayed open and carved into. The carvings are of police violence and the traffic cone is a tool police use as well. These images are then mounted to match boxes to help display the rising number of powder keg cities as they struggle with police/civilian conflicts. This is one such way in which print is pushed into new realms.

This body of work serves as evidence that traditional printing is far from obsolete, but it will continue to be used and expanded by artists looking for new ways to express themselves: in with the new, and out and with the old.

Exhibiting artists include: Bill Fick, Chuck Sperry, Crystal Wagner, Dennis McNett, Greg Gossel, Morning Breath, Ravi Zupa, and Troy Lovegates. The exhibit has been guest curated by Josef Zimmerman.

WATCH: Curators Charles Shepard and Josef Zimmerman reflect on the Out of Print exhibition.