A Kaleidoscopic View:
Recent Prints from Graphicstudio
and
Ukrainian Photography Today
September 16 — November 12, 2022
A Kaleidoscopic View showcases recent work created at Graphicstudio – the renowned studio at the University of South Florida – by 19 contemporary artists. Ukrainian Photography Today is presented in response to the ongoing war in Ukraine and highlights the work of four women-identifying artists, all working with subjects and themes whose relevance is amplified in times of need.
(left) Sandra Cinto, Untitled #5, 2016, from the series “Chance and Necessity,” photogravure. Published by and courtesy of Graphicstudio, University of South Florida Collection. Photo: Will Lytch; (right) Yelena Yemchuk, Boy at the Military Academy, 2015, from the series “Odesa,” pigment print. Courtesy of the Artist
A Kaleidoscopic View: Recent Prints from Graphicstudio
A Kaleidoscopic View features recent work from Graphicstudio, University of South Florida (USF), Tampa and includes work by Diana Al-Hadid, Ingrid Calame, Sandra Cinto, Iva Gueorguieva, Trenton Doyle Hancock, Glenda León, Christian Marclay, Josiah McElheny, Ibrahim Miranda, Duke Riley and William Villalongo as well as the Life During Wartime Portfolio, created in response to the global pandemic, with works by Sebastiaan Bremer, Jake and Dinos Chapman, Mark Thomas Gibson, Ellen Harvey, Deborah Kass, Hew Locke and Narsiso Martinez. This exhibition is one in a longstanding series in which The Print Center highlights studios whose work transforms the field of print.
A Kaleidoscopic View: Recent Prints from Graphicstudio explores the wide variety of works they have created in the last decade, emphasizing their mastery of technique, including cyanotype, intaglio, lithography, photogravure, relief and screenprinting. The sky is the limit at Graphicstudio, where master printmakers work with artists to support their exploration of content and form to realize their unique vision. Time and again, the prints coming out of Graphicstudio showcase the atelier’s ability to handle any technique, from traditional 2D to experimental 3D, as well as their generous commitment of the resources necessary for optimal realization of projects. While fluency in technique is foundational to any print studio, this exhibition draws attention to Graphicstudio’s grasp of content as something that truly sets them apart. The subjects of the prints included in this exhibition are timely – ranging from climate change to social justice. As highlighted in this exhibition, the artists engaged by Graphicstudio have their fingers on the pulse of current events, and their works stand as bastions of our pivotal moment in history. The portfolio is a tangible result of a virtual exhibition titled Life During Wartime: Art in the Age of Coronavirus, mounted by the USF Contemporary Art Museum in June 2020. For the portfolio, the artists responded to the realities of life in a global health crisis, conveying images mixed with trauma and hope.
All published by and courtesy of Graphicstudio, University of South Florida Collection.
Photos: Will Lytch.
Group exhibitions are an opportunity to showcase a myriad of voices. The two exhibitions on view at The Print Center do that and more, as their themes touch upon urgent, timely topics. It is incredibly poignant to showcase contemporary Ukrainian photography in Philadelphia during this time of war being waged on Ukraine by Russia, as it is a city with a large Ukrainian community. We hope that its members, along with others, find the exhibition a place for reflection and refuge. Concurrently, it is exciting to host an exhibition of recent prints from Graphicstudio in Tampa, Florida. The atelier is very thoughtful in its collaboration with artists and is not afraid to take risks when pushing the parameters of both form and content.
– Dr. Ksenia Nouril, Jensen Bryan Curator
Ukrainian Photography Today
Ukrainian Photography Today features work by Alena Grom, Oksana Parafeniuk, Yelena Yemchuk and Kateryna Yermolaeva – four leading photographers from Ukraine. Together, they present work that touches upon themes that are relevant in times of need, including the fragility of childhood, the volatility of motherhood, the hopefulness of youth, the importance of family connections and the urgency of care. Grom, Parafeniuk, Yemchuk and Yermolaeva – all women-identifying artists – exemplify the creativity emerging from Ukraine and its artists dispersed to other parts of the world, as well as gesture to the various feminist positions that exist within Ukrainian art. The exhibition was curated by Dr. Ksenia Nouril, a specialist in contemporary Eastern European art, with exhibition advisor Irina Glik, a Ukrainian-American photographer, educator and writer.
Alena Grom’s diptychs, from the series “Pendulum,” pair an image of a baby or toddler living in the Donbas region of Ukraine with a glimpse into and around war-torn buildings. While the portrait is direct and searing, the architectural landscapes are more abstract and melancholic. As a pair, the images make up the trajectory of a swinging pendulum – moving left to right, from birth to death.
In collaged compositions, Oksana Parafeniuk combines black-and-white archival photographs with contemporary color digital images, testifying to connections across generations. Each work pictures a family unit from both the past and the present – a mother and child, a group of children. The subjects are often pictured in repose – relaxing in nature, swimming in a lake, taking walks. These are moments of unadulterated joy in the midst of the tragedy and trauma of the reality of war.
Yelena Yemchuk turns her attention to Ukraine’s youth – teenagers who have been raised in a relatively peaceful and democratic country. Now, on the eve of their adulthood, they are faced with their greatest challenge yet: surviving and thriving in a country at war.
Kateryna Yermolaeva suffered an identity crisis after being cut-off from her family and home in Donbas in 2014. Dressing up as non-binary characters, she experimented with embodying multiple personalities in her series “Me, Myself, and I,” which comprises both male and female avatars. Each personality contains a piece of Yermolaeva’s own personality and has a story conveyed by the context of the photograph. Together, they form a motley crew that reimagines the composition of our society.
The Print Center thanks Irina Glik for sharing her activism, time and knowledge, as well as Stockbridge Fine Art Print for sponsoring the printing of the works in the show.
Now, more than ever, it is crucial to outwardly support artists from Ukraine. This exhibition, which came together in the months since Russia escalated their attack on Ukraine, is one expression of Ukrainians’ unflagging creativity and immeasurable strength in the face of war. This exhibition is mounted in solidarity with the Ukrainian people.
– Elizabeth Spungen, Executive Director
Programs
Thursday, September 15, 2022 Tuesday, October 25, 2022, 6pmExhibition Opening
Gallery Talk, 5:30pm
Reception, 6 – 7:30pm Conversation with Mark Thomas Gibson & William Villalongo
Co-sponsored and hosted by Tyler School of Art and Architecture, Temple University
All of The Print Center’s exhibitions and programs are free and open to the public.
About Graphicstudio
Graphicstudio was founded in 1968 by Dr. Donald J. Saff as an experiment in art and education. Since then, they have worked with dozens of leading artists from all over the world, including Louise Bourgeois, Judy Chicago, Roy Lichtenstein, Robert Mapplethorpe, Robert Rauschenberg and Kiki Smith, to produce over 1,000 cutting-edge print and sculpture multiples in a variety of processes. The atelier remains at the forefront of international fine art publishing, supporting a diverse roster of artists who push the boundaries of print. The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC acquired the archive of Graphicstudio in 1990. A major survey of works produced at Graphicstudio was presented at the Tampa Museum of Art in
2014. Today, Graphicstudio is part of the USF Institute for Research in Art, an umbrella organization that includes the Contemporary Art Museum and the Public Art program on campus.
