“Light, Shadow & Time” opens May 20th

Reflections on a Crosstown Vista. By Grace Bentley-Scheck. Collagraph, 2015. Image size 12 1/16 x 12 1/16″ (30.7 x 30.7 cm). LINK.

We are excited to announce our upcoming summer show, Light, Shadow & Time, a group of contemporary prints from 16 talented emerging and established printmakers. The prints selected are an eclectic mix, but all explore the patterns found in our natural and manufactured world. Whether by exploring the layering and rearrangement of natural textures or the effect of light and time on a subject, these artists see compositions in the everyday, the fleeting, the organic, and the microscopic. Light, Shadow & Time opens on Friday, May 20 and runs through Saturday, September 10, 2016.

With an important focus on the temporal and ephemeral interplay between architecture and light, Patrick Anderson and James Haggerty create dynamic scenes out of shifting shadows, highlighting the emotive warmth and coolness of light. Similarly, Grace Bentley Scheck’s collagraph explores the passage of time “recorded in the marks left by functional changes made in structures over many years, by human design or the elements, and in changing patterns of light and shadow as the sun makes its daily journey across the sky.”

Early Morning Light. Patrick Anderson. Serigraph, 2003. Image size 4 1/4 x 4 1/4″ (10.8 x 10.8 cm). LINK.

In a trio of highly patterned, organic collages entitled “Room to Grow” Heather McMordie links the puzzle-like nature of printmaking and geology.  Creating three large editions from one woodblock and one lithographic stone, and then drawing on, cutting apart, and piecing together these editions, McMordie takes the composition in as many different directions as possible, paralleling how a combination of just a few elements can create countless different minerals, rocks, and soils. Pattern in nature is further explored in Barbara Milton’s dizzying examination of layered tree leaves, Cleo Wilkinsons’ haunting portrait of the folds and subtle curves of a hibiscus flower, and Nancy Previs’ intimate, mystical composition of water flowing over rough rock, printed in green tint.

All together, the show encourages the viewers to pause, see, and reflect on the spaces, natural or man-made, that they occupy throughout the day.

Selected Artists: Patrick Anderson, Philip Bennet, Grace Bentley Scheck, Steven Brigidi, Richard T. Davis, James Haggerty, Heather McMordie, Barbara Minton, Jake Muirhead, Ilse Schreiber-Noll, Ellen Nathan Singer, Nancy Previs, Steven Walker, Larry Welo, Art Werger, and Cleo Wilkinson.

Celestial Light. [The Metropolitan Museum of Art.] By James Haggerty. Etching and chine colle, 2004. Image size 11 11/6 x 5 13/16″ (297 x 147 mm). LINK.

Verdure. By Barbara Minton. Etching and aquatint printed in color, 2000. Image size 17 3/8 x 14 3/4″ (44.1 x 37.5 cm). LINK.

2014 Winter Contemporary Show

(Left) Persistent Optimism 4b. (Center) Persistent Optimism 2b. (Right) Persistent Optimism 4a.
By Heather McMordie. Stone lithograph with woodcut and mixed media, 2014. Edition of 3. Paper size 11 x 10″ each. LINK.

The Old Print Gallery’s 2014 Winter Contemporary Show will open on Friday, November 21, 2014 with a free nighttime celebratory reception from 5-8pm at the gallery. Works by thirteen contemporary printmakers, all created within the last two years, were chosen for the show. The prints selected are an impressive and alluring display of the current eclecticism found in contemporary printmaking.  Purposeful and inventive, the prints are successful experiments in medium, color, and scale, and for many of the artists selected, the prints are a deviation from their previous creative propensities. The show will remain on view in the gallery until February 14, 2014.

Harmonious Rhythm I. Nancy Previs. Photo intaglio, 2014. Ed 2/15. Image size 9 5/8 x 12”. LINK.

Highlights include a haunting and mysterious photo intaglio landscape by Dublin-based Nancy Previs and three small mezzotints of the human form by Australian printmaker Cleo Wilkinson, whose printed visages emerge from a velvety black with a tonal richness and striking subtlety.  The exhibit also features three prints from emerging artist Heather McMordie’s new series, Persistent Optimism, an exciting experiment in prints-turned-drawings, each with elements of lithography, woodcut, graphite, colored pencil, and charcoal.

The 2014 Winter Contemporary Show will also showcase several works by local DC printmakers, including an abstract and playful watercolor-based monotype by Philip Bennet, bold screenprint monotypes with woodcut elements by Susan Goldman, and artfully rendered still lifes in etching and aquatint by Jake Muirhead.

Thrush. Jake Muirhead. Softground with drypoint, 2014. A/P. Image size 11 7/8 x 11 7/8″. LINK.

Selected Artists: Philip Bennet, Richard Carleton, Michael Di Cerbo, Eric Goldberg, Susan Goldman,  Su-Li Hung, Robert Kipniss, Mary Manusos, Heather McMordie, Jake Muirhead, Nancy Previs, Richard Sloat, and Cleo Wilkinson.

Splash #2. Philip Bennet. Oil-based ink monotype, 2013. Ed 1/1. Image size 11 x 17″. LINK.

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Kaleidoscope: New Works by Philip Bennet

Kaleidoscope. By Philip Bennet. Oil-based ink monotype, 2014. LINK.

The Old Print Gallery is pleased to announce our Spring 2014 show, Kaleidoscope, a solo-show of monotypes by local DC artist Philip Bennet. Kaleidoscope will open on Friday, April 11, 2014 with a celebratory nighttime reception and Q&A with the artist from 5-8pm at the gallery. The show will remain on view until Saturday, June 14, 2014.

Genesis. By Philip Bennet. Watercolor monotype, 2007. LINK.

Kaleidoscope features new original prints by Philip Bennet, many of them completed in 2014 specifically for the exhibit, all brimming with an opulent mix of color. Bennet’s medium of choice is the monotype, abstract and dynamic images achieved as a result of his playful and liberal approach to printmaking. He experiments with colored inks of varied viscosity, often employing hued “ghost” images as backgrounds for new prints and integrating multiple plates into each composition. His unrestricted and unique working style allows for a spontaneity and creative freedom not normally associated with printmaking. As a result, his watercolor-based monotypes feel fresh, immediate, and ephemeral, while his oil-based polychromatic creations are more intimate, enveloping viewers in colors so saturated they still seem wet on the paper.

Indian War Paint. Philip Bennet. Oil-based ink monotype, 2012. LINK.

In addition to the original monotypes on view, the exhibit will showcase one of Bennet’s original printing matrices, allowing viewers a close look at the printing tools and methods for color application used in Bennet’s monotypes. The show will also feature three original paintings and one collage, created from segmented and torn monotype prints.

Glow. By Philip Bennet. Oil-based ink monotype, 2011. LINK.

Philip Bennet is a Washington, D.C. artist, working in acrylics, pastels, watercolors, and monotypes. Bennet has won numerous juried awards, and exhibits in shows both locally and nationally. His prints were featured in the Potomac Review, a Journal of Arts and Humanities, and listed in Strathmore’s 2010 edition of “Who’s Who Worldwide Directory for the Visual Arts.” Bennet is a signature member of the Maryland Pastel Society, and a past member of the Foundry Gallery Cooperative in Washington, DC. He has prints in private and public collections, and was recently added into the museum collection at Grinnell College, his Alma Mater. Bennet attended Harvard Law School, and studied paintings at Torpedo Factory Art Center and Montgomery College.

Philip Bennet Exhibit at Bethesda Library

Looking for something to do this weekend? Local DC artist and friend of the Old Print Gallery, Philip Bennet, has a one-person exhibit of paintings on view now at the Bethesda Library. Eight acrylic paintings on canvas and two monotypes by Bennet span across the library walls, while four glass cases hold two paintings each.  There are also two display cases that hold several plates he used to produce his monotypes (they show residue of colorful oil-based inks) as well as his sketch book, open to a beautiful abstract watercolor.

This is really a great exhibit, which not only displays attractive paintings, but also explores the stages (sketches, plates, and the final artwork) of Philip Bennet’s creative process.

The exhibit is open 7 days a week, through the month of December, with the exception of December 25th.

Library Hours:  Monday-Thursday 9AM-9PM, Friday-Saturday 10AM-6PM, Sunday 12PM-5PM.

Library Address: 7400 Arlington Road, Bethesda, MD 20814

Website: http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/library/branches/bethesda.html

For more information on Philip Bennet, read his Printmaker Q&A featured on the OPG Blog last November!