Oct. 13, 2005 -- This year Arkansas State University celebrates the tenth anniversary of the Delta National Small Prints Exhibition. The opening reception will be held Thursday, Oct. 20, at 5 p.m. in the Bradbury Gallery at the Fowler Center on the ASU campus, home to the “DNSPE” for the past five years.  The exhibit will continue through Nov. 18.

Founded in 1996 by Evan Lindquist, now Professor Emeritus of Art at Arkansas State University, the DNSPE has received great acclaim as it has grown to be one of the countries foremost annual competitions for prints. Each year a nationally known expert in the field of printmaking is invited to visit ASU to select the works of art for that exhibition and to determine which works will receive awards, including purchase prizes. The juror for this year’s exhibition was Lloyd Menard, the Director and Founder of Frogman’s Press & Gallery, one of the most influential print programs and national workshops in the country.

In the exhibition catalog, Menard states, “The primary reason the Delta National is superior to other juried exhibitions is that as a juror you get to hold the prints in your hands and review them closely. I was very grateful that there were no slides (of the artworks) to evaluate. After curating other print and mixed media exhibitions I can honestly say that this one stands out because it not only attracts up and coming printmakers, but it also attracts some of the today’s most respected American artists.” He continues on to say that the Delta National is… “one of the best juried shows in America.”

Menard’s selection of 60 works by 47 artists reminds us that printmaking in a small format continues to thrive. He provides the viewing audience with an interesting assortment of works by artists from across the country. His particular vision, as seen in this exhibition, is one drawn to solid work created in traditional as well as newer print medias.

Menard says of a few of the nationally-known artists in the exhibit, “I was especially attracted to certain pieces and kept returning to them, for example… The Hit on Huey, an intaglio print by Warrington Colescott, shows off a unique style and insane subject matter that only Colescott can convey. And Dog and Hornbill, a collaboration by both Wayne Kimball and Dan Britton is a colorful lithograph that mixes Kimball’s tightness and Britton’s looseness, two distinctly different, but complimentary styles, to make a strong statement.” Both of these prints were selected as award winners and will become a part of the ASU Permanent Collection of Art. Funding for these artworks is provided through the generosity of private supporters.

The 2005 exhibition will continue the tradition of the “Learning Gallery” a room designated solely to the understanding and appreciation of printmaking. Each year a new printmaking topic is presented. This year visitors will have the opportunity to learn about the process of hand-made papermaking.

A full color catalog of the entire exhibition will be available at the opening reception. Bradbury Gallery hours are noon to 5pm Tuesday through Saturday and 2 to 5 on Sunday. The exhibition and the reception are admission-free and open to the public. For additional information please contact the Bradbury Gallery at 870-972-3471.

Contact: Les Christensen
870-972-3471
lchristensen@astate.edu

 

Warrington Colescott The Hit on Huey, 2005 color etching	Yuji Hiratsuka Hungry Partner, 2005 intaglio, relief, and chine collé	Geo Sipp Baghdad Oil Fields, 2005 vitreograph
Don A. Tilton Purchase Award Permanent Collection, Arkansas State University Underwritten by Don A. Tilton, Little Rock, Ark.	The President’s  Purchase Award Permanent Collection, Arkansas State University Underwritten by Jeanne and Dr. J. Leslie Wyatt, Jonesboro, Ark.	The Lindquist Purchase Award Permanent Collection, Arkansas State University Underwritten by Chucki and Curt Bradbury, Jr., Little Rock, Ark.