Three Decades Plus: Printmaking at UTSA
Dedicated to the memory of Dennis Olsen, Professor Emeritus of Art
Three Decades Plus: Printmaking at UTSA
Gregory Elliott
Department Chair and Professor of Art BFA 1978, MA 1980, Stephen F. Austin State University MFA 1988, Southern Methodist University
When interviewing for the Department Chair position at UTSA in the spring of 2008, I immediately saw that the department had several truly extraordinary programs. The printmaking studio focus led by two remarkable artist-professors, namely Professor Kent Rush and Professor Dennis Olsen, was clearly one of the gems of the university and the San Antonio arts community. Student engagement and enthusiasm were high, and the special visiting artists invited through President Romo’s print project made the studio a place of exceptional energy and quality. I am impressed most every day as I leave in the evenings, some times quite late, that the print students are in the studio working through the wee hours. Dennis is no longer with us— a great loss to his colleagues, students, friends, and family. Kent continues to be a major force in the studio. We
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have been very lucky to have added two new excellent faculty members to the printmaking team, including Senior Lecturer Juan Mora starting in the fall of 2014 and Assistant Professor Humberto Saenz starting in the fall of 2016. As so clearly presented in this catalog, the long-term leadership of Kent Rush and Dennis Olsen has created a special environment that has produced decades of excellence among a broad group of professional and durable artists. This exhibition is a testimony to this virtuosity and a prediction of success in the years ahead.
Scott A. Sherer
Associate Professor of Art History & Criticism and Gallery Director BA 1987, Yale University | MA 1993, University of Kentucky Ph.D. 2002, University of Minnesota
Contemporary printmaking operates a full array of splendid paradoxes. Themes may be representational, textual, conceptual, and abstract. Projects may include large editions and unique works that follow centuries of traditions in printmaking methods and materials and incorporate techniques from other art disciplines and uncharted experimentation with the new. Prints may be made with heavy stones and a delicate touch, be inspired with transfers and intuitive action, and contain impressions in and
below planes and layers on and above a variety of surfaces. More than thirty years of printmaking at UTSA demonstrate this vitality. I have had the good fortune to work closely with remarkable printmakers and to engage with students coming to their own discoveries. I have even made a few prints myself over the years. Organizing this exhibition has been a pleasure for all those involved as I have had the good fortune to enjoy the creativity of students, now friends, as well as my colleagues, also friends. Dennis Olsen’s spirit and work remain vivid for so many. I am honored to work with this group of jurors, and I am indebted to the commitments and patience of Laura Crist, Gallery Coordinator, John Hooper, Exhibits Fabricator, and Vikky Jones, Graphic Designer.
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The Printmaking Program at UTSA by Kent Rush, Professor of Art
This exhibition is a representation of the vitality of the print program at UTSA and a celebration of the incredible students and strong faculty that have guided and motivated them. The early years of the printmaking program began with Wayne Kimball, a lithographer, and Randa Newland and Alan Weinstein, who both specialized in intaglio. Dennis Olsen came to UTSA in the Fall of 1981. During that period of his career, he specialized in three-color, three-plate intaglio printing and watercolor monoprints. I joined the faculty in Fall 1982 to develop the program in lithography and photo processes. In Fall 1991, Meredith Dean became part of the team with her interests in collagraph printmaking and color theory and with her expertise helping our beginning students gain their footing in foundations.
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Our teaching has benefited from the contributions of MFA students both while in our program and after graduation. Among them, Cynthia Alderete, Virginia Balderas, Steven Carter, Neal Cox, Joe Harjo, April (Rose) Harms, David Jablonski, Soomin Jung, Ashley Knudsen, Juan de Dios Mora, Ashley Nepote, Perry Riley, Jr., Adrien Ryder, Vicki Stephens, Russell Stephenson, William Tiemann, and Walter Wagner have all taught Basic Printmaking. With a few others, Steven Carter, Neal Cox, Juan Mora, Rose Harms, and Soomin
Jung have continued after graduation to teach as adjuncts. Several visiting artists have taught full semester courses, including Malaquias Montoya (at the beginning of our campus screen printing adventures), Margo Humphrey, Bob Sennhauser and Ty Wilcox. Many, many artists have visited to give workshops and demonstrations, such as Liz Maugans and Juergen Strunck. Our printmaking classes have always welcomed student-artists from across
the disciplines. I think our students like our feedback but also our assistance in helping them find ways to adapt printmaking to their individual approaches to art making in the discipline’s traditions and with other media. Each year, all of our students bring fresh ideas, new perspectives and new problems that need new solutions. This energy sustains a robust level of innovation and experimentation. Printmaking, as I often tell my students, is all about problem solving and improvisation. Dennis and I developed the UTSA Collaborative Editions program, which has spanned 33 years, bringing a host of wonderful artists to our studio. This project has produced individual works, editions, and the “Veinticinco” suite of prints. UTSA art faculty and visiting artists, including, among others, Adál Maldonado,Judy Baca, Luis Jiménez, Catherine Lee, Mara Scrupe and Earl
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Staley (just to name a few) have contributed. These artists have brought much creative energy, enhancing our teaching program by allowing our finest students to work with them in collaborations and printing. Sharing concepts and techniques has been a part of printmaking communities for centuries, and in different ways, our visiting artists have taught us so much, inspiring us with their visions, generosity, and affability (at least most of the time!). Our gallery, unfortunately, does not afford us the opportunity to present all the alumni works that the jury desired. This exhibition is merely a small sampling of the incredible work produced in our printmaking studio by students from all of our department’s concentrations since the program’s beginning. We are especially delighted to show recent works as so many of our students have truly been producing great work in the
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years after they earned their degrees. To show all we would want, we would have to have ten times the exhibition space—these works are truly only the tip of the iceberg. I want to personally thank all those who participated in the
call for entry and to thank all the many others who were such wonderful printmaker-artists in their time here at UTSA. Over the years, I have been inspired by the support and challenge of my colleagues from art history and all of our studio disciplines. Of special note: sharing aesthetic and philosophical ideas concerning art in general and printmaking in particular, Dennis and I made a great team for the three decades plus that we worked together. Thank you, Dennis, for a great run together as colleagues and friends.
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Dennis Olsen
Professor Emeritus of Art BA 1964, MA 1967, University of California at Los Angeles www.dennisolsen.net | vimeo.com/dennisolsen
Dennis Olsen graduated with an M.A. degree from UCLA in 1967, and in that year won a Fulbright scholarship to study printmaking in Florence, Italy, where he then lived for the next 14 years. In 1970 he co-founded the Santa Reparata Graphic Art Centre in Florence (now the Santa Reparata International School of Art) and taught classes there until he returned to the USA in 1981 to join the faculty of UTSA. He inspired and energized his many students until 2014 when he retired as Professor Emeritus. Dennis described his work and life as “marked by a penchant for experimentation and change;” thus, his career does not lend itself to easy categories or brevity. He absorbed information and explored his ideas through his art, always sharing his discoveries with his students. His subject matter and the content of his work varied greatly over the years from traditional interiors and landscapes to abstract, formal works that referenced books, manuscripts, codes, and text.
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Pentimento XLV monotype, 21.5” x 33.5”, 1992
During his final years, he created a series of more than 150 “Fictive Portraits” depicting imaginary characters from a timeless village, for which he composed short narratives about each character. Dennis was also a passionate music lover, an accomplished amateur musician, and a lyrical whistler who sang and played guitar, recorder, crumhorn, autoharp, and harmonica. His life is a testimony to creativity, intellectual curiosity and joie de vivre. A dedicated mentor, he gave generously to his family, friends, and students, and is remembered for his tenacity of spirit, sense of humor, and many talents.
Ilaria intaglio/watercolor monoprint, 40” x 32”, 2011
—Meredith Dean
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Kent Rush
Professor of Art BFA 1970, California College of Arts and Crafts | MA 1975, University of New Mexico MFA 1979, University of Texas at Austin | www.kentrush.com
Printmaking is in my blood – I am passionate about the process, the tools, and the working of the materials. It is an incredible experience when everything comes together to create that luminous image on a mere slip of fine paper. Printmaking retains its valued position within the art world because of its unique and often idiosyncratic methods of image construction and, therefore, its exceptionally potent images. Printmaking has provided me an all-consuming life-time adventure of exceptional challenges and discoveries. It has been my greatest joy and deepest satisfaction to be able to share my love for the medium and my knowledge of and experience with it with the hundreds of students I have taught here these 30+ years and counting. The students have consistently been patient and persistent, talented and innovative, and a whole lot of fun. I have been quite fortunate to be able to contribute
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in some small way to their learning and to be witness to their explorations, their trials and tribulations, and their failures and breathtaking successes. I thank all of my students, past and present, for trusting me and allowing me to indulge my passion for printmaking with you.
Cancun Stump collotype, image 8� x 8�, 2003
Concrete Cone collotype, image 13” x 10”, 2014
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Meredith Dean
Senior Lecturer (retired) BFA 1968, MFA 1988, Washington University School of Fine Arts www.meredithdean.com
Memorie Di Un Tramonto, intaglio print collage, 17” x 38”, 1985
Ring of Fire, epoxy cast from relief print plates, 27.5” x 27”, 2015
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UTSA Printmaking—Looking back 30 years Litho stones and copper plates, woodcut relief designs, collagraph, serigraphy, and handmade paper. Paper—lots of paper. And inks, oil, water-based, watercolor. Roll, rub, paint, spray, carve, cut, etch, engrave, expose, measure, mix, weigh. Hotplates, solvents, no solvents. Textures and glue, carborundum grit, gum arabic, ferric chloride, and aquatint. Computers, darkroom enlargers, exposure units, presses, power tools, tarlatan. Letter-press books, high-tech and low, photogravure. Olsen, Rush, and then Dean. Busy students, cleaning plates, running editions, asleep on tables, pizza delivery, 3 AM, loud music, laughter, tears, critiques, collaboration. Discovery, new media, old practices. Elbow grease, ideas, and creativity. “The world belongs to those still willing to get their hands dirty!”
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Janet Flohr
Co-founder Hare & Hound Press BFA 1987, MFA 1990, UTSA www.harehoundpress.com
I am pleased and flattered to have been asked to join the UTSA faculty on the jury for this marvelous show. Looking at all the submissions was like seeing old friends again and meeting new ones. The outstanding caliber of the work is truly a credit to the exceptional print program at UTSA. When I was a student here in the late eighties, Dennis Olsen and Kent Rush so inspired me that I have dedicated the last 25 years to printmaking for myself and for other artists through Hare & Hound Press, the collaborative studio I started with Gary Nichols, another UTSA alumnus. The more recent print I submitted for the show is a photogravure with lithography text overlay, and it is a true story! Torso three plate color etching, 30� x 20�, 1986
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Swimtest, photogravure with lithography, 21” x 28”, 2001
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Humberto Saenz
Assistant Professor, Printmaking BA 2004, Baylor University | MA 2006, MFA 2008, University of Dallas www.humbertosaenz.com
Redonda la Ronda en el Mundo lithograph, 14.5� x 14.5�, 2015
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The UTSA Printmaking Area’s foundation is grounded in a long history of traditional, technical, and practical approaches to image making. The Printmaking Area has been shaped by nationally and internationally renowned master printers, educators, and artists who have contributed to long traditions of technical and theoretical approaches to the multiple. Students and faculty continue to respond and experiment with the creative process of making prints as a vehicle to communicate and develop expressive conceptual thinking about contemporary concerns. To further the development of printmaking, we must exercise and encourage experimentation to disrupt the borders of the medium and to recodify its relevance to the contemporary art world.
Riego lithograph, 15� x 11�, 2015
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Richard Armendariz
Associate Professor of Art BFA 1996, UTSA | MFA 1999, University of Colorado at Boulder www.rickyarmendariz.com
Recuerda wood block print, 9” x 9”, 1989
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In my work, images that have cultural, biographical and historical lineage are carved into the surface of wood blocks to produce prints. I couple traditional methods of relief printing with non-traditional tools and methods of carving to achieve my aesthetic. Removing material to create the line influences the techniques and methods I teach in my painting and drawing classes. I learned a lot about the process of relief printing as a student under Dennis Olsen’s tutelage and to return to UTSA as a professor of art is a tremendous honor.
Ya Me Voy A Therapy wood block print, 36” x 48”, 2015
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Juan Mora
Senior Lecturer BA, BFA 2009, MFA 2011, UTSA juan.mora@utsa.edu
Los Mas Pobres linocut, 7.5� x 11�, 2007
Most of my artwork concentrates on my Mexican and Mexican-American heritage and experiences. I focus my attention on the economic, social, cultural beliefs and issues of life on the border. I enjoy working with the relief medium because it offers a simplicity in regards to image making and the production of a print that contributes to the themes I wish to convey. My teaching at UTSA allows me to encourage young artists from the region to develop their skills and to create images that correspond with their interests and dreams.
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Al Que Coma Chicharrones Por la Mañana, Al Día Siguiente No Le Salen Canas linocut, 27.75” x 21.5”, 2013
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Cynthia Emma Alderete BFA University of North Texas | MFA 1992, UTSA www.cynthiaalderete.com
Music Series- Chuck relief, 26” x 38”, 2015 Door Knocker series- Nobel etching, 30” x 22”, 1991
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Monica Alexander BFA 1995, UTSA m69alex@gmail.com
My Journey intaglio, 15” x 17”, 1995
If They Can Do It So Can We oil on masonite, 9” x 11”, 2016
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Jessica Barnett DeCuir BFA 1993, Webster University, St. Louis | MFA 1996, UTSA www.artlabtx.org
Untitled photo lithograph, 16” x 22”, 1995
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Divergence digital photograph, 22” x 16”, 2016
Katherine Brown BA 1998, UTSA www.artkatstudio.us
Florentine Rain 1 watercolor monoprint, 12” x 14”, 1998
Farfallina assemblage, collage, encaustic, 21” x 25”, 2016
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Madison Cowles Serna BFA 2013, UTSA | MFA Candidate, University of Kentucky www.madisoncowles.com
Reclamation lithograph, 11” x 14”, 2016 The Space Between Us woodcut, 24” x 18”, 2013
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Neal Cox BFA 2002, Brigham Young University | MFA 2004, UTSA www.nealcox.blogspot.com
A1 lithography/intaglio, 10” x 10”, 2003
Hashtag Capulin #2 copperplate photogravure, 5” x 7”, 2016
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Lynn Dusenbury BFA 2011, UTSA www.artbylynnmarcel.com
Ascidian Colony woodblock print, 28.5” x 13.5”, 2010
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Nautilus #1 birch veneer, steel, mesquite, 24” x 14.5”, 2016
Trina Faundeen BA 2012, UTSA trina@seriopress.com
Cocoon serigraph, 17.75” x 18.5”, 2016 The Orphan lithograph, 17.25” x 27.5”, 2012
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Guillermo-Francisco Gaitan AA 2009, St. Philip’s College, San Antonio | BFA 2012, UTSA www.guillermofranciscogaitan.com
A Freedom Was Lost digital photography, 11” x 14”, 2014 Tempest monoprint, 9.5” x 9.5”, 2012
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Raul Gonzalez BFA 2010, Univeristy of Houston | MFA 2014, UTSA www.artistraulgonzalez.com
Excavation Series 1 (Red & Black) collagraph, 19” x 13.5”, 2014
Self Portrait (Stay at Home Professional) graphite, ballpoint pen, acrylic, marker on printmaking paper, 15” x 15”, 2016
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Rose Harms BFA 1993, MFA 2000, UTSA lrharms10@gmail.com
Rose is a Rose, collotypes/clamshell box, 12” x 15” x 1”, 2000
Grotto, artist book, 12” x 16.5” x 2.5”, 2015
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Mark Hogensen BA, BFA 1988, Oregon State University | MFA 1990, UTSA www.markhogensen.com
Twins ink pen, 22” x 30”, 2015 Natural Selection etching, 22” x 30”, 1988
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Tom Hollenback BA, University of Oklahoma | MFA 2005, UTSA thollenback29@gmail.com
Untitled monoprint, 21.5” x 21”, 2004 Untitled augmented relief print mounted on wood, silk thread, wood, glass beads, 21.5” x 12” x 2.25”, 2016
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Leticia Huerta BFA 1985, UTSA | MFA 1991, Southern Methodist University www.leticiahuerta.com
Figs monoprint, 14” x 14”, 1984
Sana Sana archival digital print with collage, 22” x 30”, 2015
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James Joffe BFA 1999, Texas State University | MFA 2002, UTSA www.joffefineart.com
Found Wood Study #1 intaglio ink on Stonehenge paper, 16” x 20”, 2001
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I’ve Been Breaking Glass in Your Room Again acrylic on birch panel, 24” x 36”, 2016
Soomin Jung BFA 2005, MFA 2008, UTSA www.soominjung.com
Flute Ensemble lithograph, 15” x 20”, 2007
Chunji: Reflection colored pencil and graphite on paper, 11” x 14”, 2016
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Landa King
BFA 1985, West Texas A&M University MA 1986, West Texas State University | MFA 1988, UTSA lking@tlu.edu
Descent collotype, 11” x 14”, 1988
Flight mixed media, 6” x 12”, 2016
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Marilyn Lanfear BFA 1976, MFA 1978, UTSA www.marilynlanfear.com
Little Blanco lithograph, 30” x 21”, 1978
Aunt Opal’s Bathing Suit limestone, basket, 19.5” x 22” x 17”, 2008
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Tess Martinez BFA 2005, UTSA truetesst@gmail.com
Topographical Claims ink on Elmer’s glue palm impression, paper 11” x 30”, 2005 11:59 pm fiber based silver gelatin print, 24” x 20”, 2015
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Roxi McCloskey Morris BFA, MFA 1992, UTSA www.roximccloskeyart.com
March of the Saints: Leo, Daniel, Geraldo encaustic on wood panels 36” x 91.5”, 2016 Karen mezzotint, 15” x 11”, 1992
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Benjamin McVey BFA 1995, Texas State University | MFA 2012, UTSA www.benjaminmcvey.com
Color Field Abstract II litho ink on paper, 23” x 15”, 2010
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Two Equal Parts of Different Values stacked bricks, texture, paint, 8” x 9” x 2.25”, 2016
Gary Nichols BFA 1989, UTSA www.harehoundpress.com
Florence on the Skids intaglio, 27.25” x 19.75”, 1987
The Surgeon monotype with LED illumination in built frame, 40.5” x 12”, 2014
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Roberto Rosas BFA 1997, UTSA www.miracleweavercreationsllc.com
Another Call Ink on paper from zinc plate, 24� x 18�, 1993
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Adventures - (MWC LLC), digital print, dimensions variable, 2015
Anthony Rundblade AA 2008, Antelope Valley College | BFA 2015, UTSA www.rundbladeworks.com
Generational Trauma (Thinking of the Abundance of Sunshine and Roses to Come) screen-print collage on Stonehenge, Yupo, LED-light, book, found paper, 48” x 33”, 2015
Merici’s Feast Day (27th of May) screen-print on Stonehenge mounted to birch panel, 29” x 28”, 2016
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Alan Serna BFA 2015 | MFA Candidate, University of Kentucky www.alanserna.com
Que Riqueza lithograph, 30” x 22”, 2014
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San Bago de Los Laredos lithograph, 20” x 10”, 2016
Vicki Stephens BFA 2005, MFA 2008, UTSA www.vickistephensprints.com
DPainting3 digital print, 7” x 7”, 2015 WineCrate relief print, 38” x 24”, 2004
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Hiromi Stringer BS 1999, Tottori University, Japan | MFA candidate, UTSA www.hiromistringer.com
Home Awaits Woodcut, 8” x 6”, 2009
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my ONLY cat scratched my arm today. etching, aquatint, colored pencil on paper, 6” x 4”, 2016
Victoria Suescum BA 1983, Wellesley College | MFA 1990, UTSA www.victoriasuescum.com
Traveler litho, xerox transfer, spray paint, 22” x 30”, 1989
Beauty Parlor Beauty photolitho, paint, 8.5” x 12”, 2006
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Margarita Urquiza BA 1975, Tecnológico de Monterrey | MFA 1992, UTSA | Ph.D. 2012, Tecnológico de Monterrey mfurquiza@gmail.com
Vanitas III monotype, 29” x 22”, 1992
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Vida watercolor, 30” x 22”, 2013
Sherry Watson BFA 1983, UTSA www.facebook.com/sherlockwatson
Reap of the Sabine Women etching/engraving, 28” x 20”, 1982 Arroyo Dragon acrylics, 16” x 20”, 2015
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This catalog has been published in conjunction with the juried exhibition, Three Decades Plus: Printmaking at UTSA, at the UTSA Main Art Gallery, The University of Texas at San Antonio.
January 18 - February 24, 2017
Department of Art and Art History One UTSA Circle, San Antonio, Texas 78249 210-458-4352 art.utsa.edu Jurors: Meredith Dean, President, Santa Reparata International School of Art, UTSA Senior Lecturer (retired); Gregory Elliott, Department Chair, UTSA Department of Art & Art History; Janet Flohr, Owner/Director/Master Printer at Hare & Hound Press and UTSA MFA Alumna; Kent Rush, Professor of Art, UTSA; Dr. Scott Sherer, Associate Professor of Art History and UTSA Main Art Gallery Director Gallery Director: Scott A. Sherer, PhD Photography: Courtesy of the artists Catalog design: Vikky Jones Š 2017 UTSA Art Gallery The University of Texas at San Antonio All rights reserved. Copyright of all artwork depicted remains with the artists. ISBN: 978-1-4951-6824-6 This exhibition is sponsored in part by: Elizabeth Huth Coates Charitable Foundation of 1992