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photograph by Taylor Dabney
Lester Johnson (American, 1919-2010), Springtime 87, 1987, color etching and aquatint with hand coloring on paper, image 18 x 23 ½ inches, Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, Center Street Studio Archives, H2019.01.058, © Estate of the artist
Exhibition
Jan 19, 2021
throughMar 26, 2021

40 Years of Printmaking: From the Center Street Studio Archives

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The University of Richmond Museums opens 40 Years of Printmaking: From the Center Street Studio Archives, on view in the Harnett Museum of Art, January 19 through March 26, 2021. The exhibition features prints by contemporary artists that were printed by James Stroud, artist, master printer, and founder/director of the Center Street Studio in Milton, Massachusetts, since the Studio’s establishment in 1984. The Joel and Lila Harnett Print Study Center, University of Richmond Museums, has been acquiring these prints since 1998 as part of the Center Street Studio Archives in the Harnett Print Study Center permanent collection.

This selection highlights the remarkable collaboration between the master printer and the artist that has been the hallmark of the Center Street Studio since its beginning, producing hundreds of prints of extraordinary quality by artists of national and international reputation. The wealth of artworks and documentation contained in the Archives is utilized as a primary source for both research and exhibition at the University Museums. As the repository of the Studio’s ongoing artistic production, the Harnett Print Study Center provides students, scholars, artists, and the community with an important resource for contemporary printmaking.

Center Street Studio Director, James Stroud states, “Over the past 40 years of making prints with other artists, I have had some wonderful opportunities to pull prints outside of my normal publishing activities. From printing Rembrandt plates for museums to proofing the backs of plates for an artist’s archive, this exhibition has several of those quirky projects that are fun to look at and talk about, including Gail Singer’s print from 1981, the first project that I served as master printer. The exhibition offers some intriguing new projects from the Studio in addition to some earlier prints published during the last four decades. I hope you will enjoy this opportunity to see “behind the scenes” projects from Center Street Studio.”

About the Exhibition

This exhibition from the museum’s Center Street Studio Archives focuses on unusual projects, ranging from James Stroud’s earliest print as a master printer to several recent prints he has just published. The collaboration between master printer and artist has been the remarkable hallmark of Center Street Studio since its beginnings in 1984, and the Studio has produced hundreds of prints by artists of national and international reputation.

The exhibition features artwork by Nell Blaine (American, 1922-1996), Ann Conner (American, born 1948), Charles Ritchie (American, born 1954), Aaron Fink (American, born 1955), Nancy Haynes (American, born 1947), Cyrus Highsmith (American, born 1973), Lester Johnson (American, 1919-2010), David Ortins (American, born 1957), Gabor Peterdi (American, born Hungary, 1915-2001), Kelly Sherman (American, born 1978), Gail Singer (American, born 1924), James Stroud (American, born 1958), Bill Thompson (American, born 1956), John Walker (British, born 1939), George Whitman (American, born 1944), and Janine Wong (American, born 1956).

Organized by the University of Richmond Museums, the exhibition was curated by Richard Waller, Executive Director, University Museums, and James Stroud, artist, master printer, and founder/director of the Center Street Studio. The exhibition is made possible in part with funds from the Louis S. Booth Arts Fund.

Virtual Tour of the Exhibition
Take a virtual walk through of the 40 Years of Printmaking exhibition that features prints by contemporary artists that were printed by James Stroud, artist, master printer, and founder/director of the Center Street Studio in Milton, Massachusetts, since the Studio’s establishment in 1984.
Programming

UR Museums are currently working to provide programs and resources online to support and supplement the exhibition.  We hope to feature interviews with artists, collectors, and curators.  Keep connected at museums.richmond.edu for the most up-to-date information about programs, exhibitions, and announcements.

Virtual Gallery Talk

Printmaking Demo