FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Ashley Peel Pinkham, 215-735-6090 x2
or apeelpinkham@printcenter.org

82nd ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL COMPETITION: PHOTOGRAPHY

May 31 – August 2, 2008

Saturday, May 31: Opening Reception 3:00-5:00pm
Gallery Talk & Awards Ceremony by the Juror: 3:30pm
Juror: Joel Smith, Curator of Photography, Princeton University Art Museum

PHILADELPHIA: The Print Center’s 82nd Annual International Competition: Photography features 37 prints by 36 of the finest contemporary artists from around the world. On Saturday, May 31 juror Joel Smith, Curator of Photography, Princeton University Art Museum will give a gallery talk discussing the works included in the exhibition with award ceremony immediately following.

The Print Center’s Annual International Competition is one of the most prestigious exhibitions of its kind and is the oldest juried exhibition for printmaking and photography in the United States. Alternating yearly between printmaking and photography, it provides a unique opportunity for local, national and international artists to compete in a forum which emphasizes individual talent and expressiveness rather than a specific exhibition topic. Mr. Smith reviewed over 2,100 images submitted by over 500 artists.  “The result is an exceptional exhibition, representative of the wide variety of current photographic practices, with a particular nod to the digital viewer,” said Executive Director Elizabeth Spungen. 

This year’s Philadelphia Museum of Art Purchase Award, selected by Kate Ware, Curator of Photographs, Philadelphia Museum of Art was awarded to Amy Stein and was supported by Julie Jensen Bryan and Robert Bryan and the Callan/McNamara Award. Mr. Smith awarded The Print Center’s Honorary Council Award of Excellence ($500) to Susan Lakin and Honorable Mention Awards ($50) to Jimmy Fike and Timothy Fitzgerald. The Olcott Family Award ($500) was given to Irene Imfeld and the Florence Whistler Fish Award ($300) went to Nadine Rovner.

Material awards include the Aperture Award (two year subscription) to Daniel Farnum, the Blind Spot Award (one year subscription) to Libby Rowe, The Photo Review Award (one year subscription) to Devorah Bowen and the Art on Paper Award (one year subscription) to Sarah Bones. The Silicon Gallery Fine Art Print Award ($250 gift certificate) was given to Jack Ramsdale, the Calumet Award ($250 gift certificate) to Jennifer Tauber and the Crane & Company Paper Award (paper valued at $350) to Chris Smiar. The Print Center’s Curator of Prints and Photographs, John Caperton awarded prestigious solo exhibitions to Nadine Rovner and Amy Stein. The exhibition will travel to Long Beach Island Foundation of the Arts and Sciences, Loveladies, NJ, September 19– October 27, 2008.

The Triumph of Democracy: Inside the Studio: Benjamin Edwards
May 31 – August 2, 2008

Saturday, May 31
Opening Reception: 3:00-5:00pm

PHILADELPHIA: The Print Center announces The Triumph of Democracy: Inside the Studio,an exhibition of digital prints by Washington, DC artist Benjamin Edwards.  This exhibition will be the first solo show of Edwards’ printed works in the United States and will include several studies that Edwards has created relating to a recently completed, epically scaled public commission entitled The Triumph of Democracy.

Edwards’ work has always reflected his keen interest in utopias, as well as his close observation of the rampant corporate culture of the last decade. He is also inspired by the new architecture of Washington, DC, calling it a “fantasy of a perfect capitalist, contradictions and all.” The Triumph of Democracy shows a manically detailed cityscape that is both familiar and disorienting, combining blandly handsome low-rise office buildings, vacant parking lots and fast food restaurants lining streets crammed with signs. The works included in this exhibition will show the entire wonderland along with smaller studies showing different layers of the city, breaking it apart and revealing how the hugely complex image was created. Edwards works from photographs of the generic types of buildings that all American consumers experience. He uses these photos to create virtual models using 3D modeling software, which are then combined in numerous layers to create an overall landscape.

Edwards was born in 1970 in Iowa City, IA. He attended the University of California, Los Angeles and received his M.F.A. from the Rhode Island School of Design. He has recently had solo exhibitions in New York, Paris and Tokyo and his work has been included in a number of significant group exhibitions at such institutions as The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH; Cranbrook Art Museum, Bloomfield Hills, MI; P.S. 1, Long Island City, NY and the Rhode Island School of Design Museum of Art, Providence, RI. His work is in a number of public collections, including the Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh, PA; the Museum of Modern Art, New York, NY; and the New York Public Library, New York, NY.

Edwards’ work will be on view at The Print Center from May 31 to August 2, 2008. The opening reception is on Saturday, May 31 from 3:00-5:00pm. Edwards will give a public lecture on Wednesday, July 16, from 12:00-1:00pm *NEW DATE* at The University of the Arts, CBS Auditorium, Hamilton Building, 320 S. Broad St, Philadelphia, PA. This talk is cosponsored by The University of the Arts’ Master of Fine Arts Program.

The Print Center supports printmaking and photography as vital contemporary arts and encourages the appreciation of the printed image in all its forms. The Print Center presents a variety of programs for the public including 11 exhibitions annually; The Print Center Gallery Store offering the largest and most diverse selection of contemporary prints in Philadelphia; the longest running annual international competition for prints and photographs in the country; an extensive series of continuing education programs; and special events.