A group of fascinating pieces from artists working in an equally fascinating (if painstaking) form, are on display at the Hudson Gallery in Sylvania, as part of its "Graphic Realities" exhibit, taking place now through August 13.
The exhibit brings together the work of five internationally known artists from around the country, each of whom has made a name in printmaking— a process by which art is created on a matrix or plate and then transferred to another surface.
Janet Ballweg’s “Return to Familiar Ground”: Ballweg says the spirit of experimentation and problem solving is something she loves about printmaking. Photo courtesy Janet Ballweg.
Janet Ballweg
Janet Ballweg's pieces bring together the mundane and the evocative. Now based in Bowling Green, Ballweg became fascinated with art in high school before attending the University of Wisconsin, where she fell in love with printmaking as a form. She said she loves using her work to elicit a sense of tension in the kinds of things we see every day.
"I think making something ordinary extraordinary is kind of what I'm after," Ballweg said in an interview. "Something that you can live with and come back to, where you can look at it initially and go, 'Oh, that's pleasant,' and then the more you look at it, there's an undertone."
Jean Gumpper’s “Swedish Grass”: Gumpper learned reduction woodcutting from fellow Hudson exhibit subject Karen Kunc. She even went to school with fellow artists Art Werger and Janet Ballweg. Photo courtesy Jean Gumpper.
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Jean Gumpper
Art has always been a part of Jean Gumpper's life. The Colorado resident, though, didn't think of art as a career path until she discovered a printmaking class in college. Gumpper's remarkable works capture breathtaking views of nature, through a painstaking reductionist woodcutting process— a technique taught to her by fellow Graphic Realities artist Karen Kunc.
"My work goes back and forth between being more intuitive and being more analytical," Gumpper said. "And so I think, printmaking, there's a wonderful transformation that happens— you're working on something that's not the finished product."
Karen Kunc’s “Motion and Gravity”: “Knowing I was an artist at such an early age gave me a sense of identity, so I always had a goal, and direction.” Photo courtesy Karen Kunc.
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Karen Kunc
Nature is also the primary inspiration of Karen Kunc, a Nebraska native whose work has a bold and vibrant quality. Kunc said she has been fascinated with printmaking ever since high school, and that the meticulous nature of the process appeals to her desire to always try something new.
"I never know how the print will turn out, or even how many layers or runs that it takes to bring an image to completion," Kunc said. "So, I keep learning new things, and keep the process fresh and challenging for me."
Yuji Hiratsuka’s “TB”: Hiratsuka was born in Japan, but moved to the United States 30 years ago, and currently teaches at Oregon State University. Photo courtesy Yuji Hiratsuka.
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Yuji Hiratsuka
Born in Osaka, Japan, Yuji Hiratsuka's work captures and contrasts both an ancient and modern aesthetic. Ever since moving to the United States 30 years ago, Hiratsuka said his work has been an attempt to bring together the dichotomy of the traditional and the modern in Japanese life.
"I like the indirectness," Hiratsuka said of printmaking. "Drawing and painting, you paint or you draw— that's a product, you see it. But the printmaking, they have a little in-between the final product and the artist's concept and ideas."
Art Werger, "I Dreamed I Could Fly": Werger said he often likes to experiment with aerial points of view in his work, "which puts us at a different vantage point, rather than at an eye-level." Photo credit: Art Werger.
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Art Werger
While his fellow Hudson artists find inspiration in natural or traditional settings, Art Werger's work leans toward a modern aesthetic. Depictions of cityscapes or suburban life are a trademark of the Ohio artist's prints, though like his fellow artists he looks deeper, finding an off-center or even unsettling tone in his look at the world.
"I try to use my images to generate an active reaction, an active response, rather than a passive response," Werger said. "Rather than just saying, 'Here's the world, isn't it pretty, isn't it nice?' There may be a surface level of attractive qualities to the work, but then when you look closer, there may be something that's a little edgy."
The “Graphic Realities” exhibit will run through August 13 at the
Hudson Gallery | 5645 N. Main St. | Sylvania.
The gallery’s hours are 10am–6pm Tuesday-Friday | 10am–3pm Saturday.
hudsongallery.net
