Look Closely: Small Portfolios by Rebecca Gilbert, Matthew Wittmer, Sue Coe + others

First Friday Reception May 6, 6:00 – 8:00pm

Small Portfolios from the Constellation Studios Collection

by  Rebecca Gilbert, Matthew Wittmer, Sue Coe

+ other small selections.

May 6 – 28, 2022

A special opportunity to view a cohesive series of prints by several artists that each offer visual delights and details.  Prints in this presentation format can play with variations on a theme and echo notes that are intended for visual readings.   We are fascinated by the attention, skill, and stream-of-story within these series.

Rebecca Gilbert is making an extensive project on the Dance of Death, updated for our times, yet referential to the Medieval allegory.  Her project in its entirety will consist of a total of 82 prints, all unbound, to be housed in a clamshell box.   41 are Holbein images that she is faithfully creating as wood engravings and printing along with movable type, and 41 are from her own drawings also interpreted as wood engravings. She has been working diligently on the project for about two years and is just a 1/3 of the way through.   She estimates it could be four more years before it’s finished.  A selection is presented here.

Rebecca Gilbert is a Philadelphia-based artist. She earned an MFA in Printmaking + Book Arts from The University of the Arts and a BFA from Marshall University. She was awarded an Independence Foundation Art Fellowship and a Winterthur Maker/Creator Research Fellowship; an Artist Residency at Sparkbox Studio, Ontario; a Surdna Foundation Enrichment Grant to support her exploration of wood engraving at the Augusta Heritage Center.  Gilbert serves on the board of The Wood Engravers’ Network; and teaches at The University of the Arts and the Maryland Institute College of Art.  https://rebeccaprint.com/

Matthew Wittmer created the Run series as a UNL MFA candidate (97-00).  These intaglio prints convey extensive and obscure references to film scenes of……you know……running.   Beautifully drawn with chiaroscuro effects and a sense of a motion capture, our filmic knowledge is tested.

Matthew has been a creative artist and documentarian of sorts since grade school. His work has been published by Roman & Littlefield, University of California Press, and Independent School Magazine. He was raised in southern Missouri and now lives in southern California.  He is currently the librarian for middle and high school students in Sherman Oaks, where he can cultivate a crossroads between outreach and learning. He documents the April 19th Survivors’ Memorial service in Waco, Texas annually.  He has demonstrated wire walking and rigging equipment with Philippe Petit for The Walk, a film on the WTC crossing.  http://www.stormbound.org/

Sue Coe’s small collection is The Tail that Wagged the Dog, a series of etching, aquatint, and linoleum prints from 1990.  Coe is a passionate artist and illustrator who uses her visual voice to speak for animal rights and our relationship with them, as well as social justice issues, all with dark humor, pathos, and graphic intensity.

Sue Coe is considered one of the foremost political artists working today. Born in England, she currently lives in Upstate New York.  Coe is best known for her paintings and drawings of animals in slaughterhouses and factory farms. She posts a print each day that follows the latest news stories.  https://www.graphicwitness.org/coe/enter.htm

A selection of other interesting small works by various artists will be included TBD.