Demuth Museum and Lancaster Museum of Art Use One Museum Two Locations to Present Two Joint Exhibits

LANCASTER, Pa. - April 3, 2018 - PRLog -- The Lancaster Museum of Art and the Demuth Museum are pleased to announce two exhibitions that focus on the art of printmaking and the bevy of talented local artists located in Lancaster.  These exhibitions are focused on revealing this art form, which prior to the 20^th century was a more private art designed for connoisseurs and collectors that were published in limited editions and stored away in portfolios. In the 20^th century artist prints assumed a more public role and with the adoption of affordable processes, more people could collect them. Prior to the 1960's, painting and sculpture were often an artist's primary focus, but with the rise of print studios, artists were encouraged to explore the potential of printmaking.  As Anne M. Lampe notes, "during the 1960's, artists such as Robert Rauschenberg and Andy Warhol used printmaking to create art works that were major breakthroughs in their creative trajectory. For the first time, printmaking was a primary means of expression. These two exhibits will reveal printmaking processes as well as its creative potential."

The exhibit at the Demuth Museum, Printmaking through History: Artist Prints on view from April 14 – May 26, will focus on the history of printmaking and help viewers to understand the four main forms of printmaking beginning with an etching by Rembrandt, a Picasso woodcut, a Man Ray lithograph and a Warhol screen print. In addition, the exhibit will include works by local artists such as Barbara Whipple, the Newswangers, David Snyder and Luigi Rist, who left an indelible mark on the art of printmaking through his inventive adaptation of tools and printing techniques. Rist's innovations enabled him, through subtle variations in the printing process, to create highly individualized prints.  Although one of his editions included 60 prints of one subject, each individual print is unique unto itself, achieving Rist's stated goal of "painting through the medium of printing."

Simultaneously, the exhibit at the Lancaster Museum of Art, The Art of the Big Print: Master Lancaster Printmakers on view from April 14 - July 1, will feature six master printmakers that live and work locally. All of these artists will create relief prints that are 30 x 40 inches on a piece of Baltic Birch wood. The artists participating are; Milt Friedly, Jeff Geib, Matthew Lawrence, Robert Patierno, Gene Shaw, and Brant Schuller. Printing is often a collaborative activity and the artists will be joined by BIG INK's Lyell Castonguay on Friday, April 6 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm to print their large blocks. The public is invited to come and experience this unusual activity of printing such large blocks. In addition, the public will be able to experience print making themselves through a sampling of various techniques that will be available at the Lancaster Museum location. The prints that are made on April 6th will then be included in the exhibition that will open on Friday April 13th at the same location. "Being able to experience firsthand the printing of these very large woodblock prints is a rare opportunity and I hope that a large part of the community will come out to experience it," noted Anne M. Lampe.

Opening receptions will be held at both museum locations on Friday, April 13 from 5 to 8 pm.

Demuth Museum, 120 E. King Street, Lancaster, PA  17602
Museum hours: Tuesday – Saturday 10 am – 4 pm, Sunday 1 pm – 4 pm

Lancaster Museum of Art, 135 N. Lime Street, Lancaster, PA 17602
Museum hours: Tuesday – Saturday, 10 am – 4 pm, Sunday noon – 4 pm

www.demuth.org