2011 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition opens at Bradbury Gallery Jan. 20

January 14, 2011 -- The 2011 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition will open to the public at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 20 at the Bradbury Gallery  in Fowler Center, 201 Olympic Drive, Jonesboro, on the campus of Arkansas State University. This exhibition is the fifteenth in the annual series which highlights small-format prints currently being made by artists across the nation and around the world. The exhibition, like the opening reception, is free and open to the public. The Delta National Small Prints Exhibition runs through Sunday, Feb. 20.

Each year a professional in the field is given the opportunity to sort through numerous works of art, make his or her selections for the exhibition and determine which prints will receive awards. The 2011 exhibition was chosen by John Caperton, the well-respected Jensen Bryan curator at The Print Center in Philadelphia. His incredible eye and dedication to the art of printmaking is evident by the exhibition that he has arranged.

Caperton has organized numerous exhibitions at The Print Center, including the work of Masao Yamamoto, Hirsch Perlman, Bill Walton, Isaac Lin, and Melanie Schiff. He was on the curatorial team for the well-received and very popular “Philagrafika 2010: The Graphic Unconscious,” an international festival celebrating the print in contemporary art held in several locations throughout Philadelphia. Prior to that he was the exhibitions coordinator at Locks Gallery in Philadelphia, where he organized exhibitions with artists such as Virgil Marti, Polly Apfelbaum, Thomas Chimes, Eileen Neff, Stuart Netsky, and Clare Rojas. He has also held positions at the Fairmount Park Art Association of Philadelphia and the Anderson Gallery at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. Additionally, he served as guest curator at Vox Populi and the former Project Room in Philadelphia.

There was a much greater than normal response to 2011 Delta National Small Prints Exhibition from printmakers who submitted their work to be considered for inclusion in the show. This produced an appealing exhibition composed of several types and styles of prints from the United States and abroad.

Caperton comments, “The entries were incredibly diverse, with works made using the most traditional printmaking processes alongside hybrid works involving photography or drawing, spanning a wide range of what could be called a print. There were marked differences in purpose, technical origin, genre, and personality, but overall the show continued the serious commitment to print among contemporary artists:  as a way of reproducing marks, as a response to the long history of the medium and as a way of seeing and understanding.” 

The popularity of the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition is evident by the support it receives from the community.  A large group of generous and devoted patrons help to fund the annual event. Their assistance also provides for the ongoing expansion of a now significant print collection being built through annual acquisitions from the exhibition. Caperton acknowledges the importance of this and states he has been involved with many print competitions “but never one with this level of commitment to acquiring work for a public collection.”

Two of the 43 artists included in the exhibition are from Arkansas. Dustyn Bork from Batesville is represented by two of his serigraphs, belgium no. 5, and belgium no. 10, both from 2008. Stephanie Sweeney, a recent graduate from Walnut Ridge, is exhibiting her print titled Knicker Shot, which is a reduction relief from 2008.

This exhibition is dedicated to Mike Gibson and the Judd Hill Foundation for their significant support of the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition and Arkansas State University.

A full-color catalog of the entire exhibition will be available at the opening reception.  Bradbury Gallery hours are 12 noon-5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 2-5 p.m. on Sunday. The exhibition, the catalog, and the reception are free and open to the public. 

For additional information, contact Les Christensen, director of the Bradbury Gallery,  at (870) 972-2567.
















Images, from top:
Yuji Hiratsuka
Charmer L, 2009
intaglio and chine collé
18 x 24 inches

Janet Ballweg
What Lies Beneath, 2009
four color polymer intaglio
9.75 x 5.75 inches

Carrie Lingscheit
momento no. 16480 (hold), 2010
intaglio
10 x 17 inches

Stephanie Sweeney
Knicker Shot, 2008
reduction relief
11 x 15 inches

Dustyn Bork
belgium no. 5, 2008
serigraph
26 x 19 inches

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