Shawn Lotze’s inspiration for the current show at Studio & arrived by simply paying attention.
“I thought about the little things we have to do as printmakers, like washing hands, that are part of the process,” Lotze said. “I’ve come to understand that the actions needed for pulling a print have become rituals. That fascinates me.”
The minute steps of the creative process, from the ping of inspiration to the rigors of “pulling” a print, gave Lotze pause. He invited six highly regarded area printmakers to join him in a group exhibit.
Lotze’s poster image focuses on one necessary ritual – washing hands. It’s a creative interpretation of a humble act. The asymmetrical composition focus on water splashing down in a weighty vertical component. The water passes through the main image, or focal point of two cupped hands. Inside the hands a circular object draws the eye and anchors the whole composition. It’s not what you might think.
“That circle was a knot in the wood,” Lotze said, “so I worked it into the composition.”
Rippling across the top, star-like white dots add a whimsical horizontal element. Again, they are not what you think.
“That cluster of dots,” Lotze said, “resulted from nails left in the old piece of wood. I decided to use them.”
So much for noticing the small things. So much for what’s known as “the discovery method” in creative practice. Many artists employ the practice often with surprising results.
If you go
WHAT: “Necessary Ritual: The Patience of Printmakers” exhibit of current work, curated by Shawn Lotze.
WHEN: Through Aug. 27. Gallery hours: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday to Friday; 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday; noon to 5 p.m. Sunday.
WHERE: Studio &, 1027 Main Ave.
MORE INFORMATION: Visit www.anddurango.com or call (733) 263-1279.
Fellow exhibitors include: Joshua Butler, Ron Fundingsland, Louise Grunewald, Tony Holmquist, Andra Martens and Mauree May. All are established printmakers whose works can be seen regionally as well as nationally. Butler’s “Kosmo-Scope” screen prints were inspired, he says in his artist’s statement, by his childhood fascination with kaleidoscopes. He’s experimented with that multifaceted, circular form through several multi-media sieves to come up with these joyous, colorful prints.
Fundingsland may be the most widely-known printmaker in the group. His etchings and lithographs frequently exude a wry sense of humor. Look for that in “Wheels” and “Day After Day.” Both have hidden humor.
Grunewald exhibits solar-plate prints from her series “My Beloved West.” Semi-abstract, many images have arisen out of drawings while the artist is out in nature. She also works directly on solarplates. Exposed to the sun and printed on a press. The finished images have become a signature form for the artist, who may be best known for her artist books.
Holmquist, who teaches at Fort Lewis College, explores and combines and reconstructs prints as he does when he interprets old-time music on his fiddle, banjo or guitar. He may start with an idea or fragment and experiment until he has a an original, “new” image.
Martens’ prints come from a current series about the concept of evanescence, or impermanence. Currently teaching at Hollins University in Roanoke, Virginia, Martens uses traditional and hybrid processes to explore the impact of the human footprint on our world. Highly abstract, Martens’ prints evoke natural phenomena whether suggesting a microscopic lens or low tide.
May is one of Durango’s polymaths, a constantly surprising creative who is an accomplished actor and musician. Her new etchings Inspired by a 1973 novel, which qualities as a found object, May embarked on a series of etchings. Semi-abstract and often humorous, given the titles, the images may echo odd characters or plot twists.
Lotze’s paired prints present another conundrum. In “On the Level,” he presents a final print, a seeming landscape with playful, abstract figures and its ghost-print partner. The pair demonstrates Lotze’s apparent philosophy, a way of living and working – noticing and valuing ordinary moments, even afterthoughts.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
