“Etch”: a conversation between two art forms

Jan. 10, 2013 - PRLog -- “Etch” is meant to be a conversation between art forms. The show will be held at Flame Run Glass Art Gallery February 7 through March 30 and combines the work of illustrator/printmaker Justin Kamerer and glass artists Rick Schneider and Nikki Vahle.

Their work includes intricately etched designs that make bold statements. It relies on cultural influences and can include exciting and sometimes cynical narratives that recall alternative comic book artists.  

“Some art speaks to each other even if they are not the same medium,” said Gallery Director Tiffany Ackerman, who organized the show.  “You put these artists together and they make a nice conversation.”

Kamerer, from Louisville, is a rock star in the world of printing and illustration.  He has designed posters, merchandise and album covers for Guns and Roses, Cher, Paul McCartney, Ashlee Simpson, Faith No More, and many others. His work includes a wheat paste installation at the Facebook Headquarters in Palo Alto he made last March.  He owns Crackhead Press with a business partner.  

Schneider runs the art glass program at Anoka Ramsey Community College in Coon Rapids, a suburb of Minneapolis. He and Vahle, a printmaker who is also his wife, have been collaborating for 14 years. Schneider said their work is influenced by the narrative style of banded ancient Greek pottery, comic books and his working-class background.  Much of the work tells a story:  For example, a sculpture of a firefighter includes an image of a firefighter in front of a burning building.