LINCOLN.- The Sheldon Memorial Art Gallery at the University of Nebraska presents the exhibit Expressing Identity: American Prints Since 1980 through January 28, 2007. More than 20 prints from Sheldon collections referencing personal experiences and cultural influences will compose this intimate yet quite diverse exhibition.

While artists have explored their identities in many media, the Sheldon's outstanding print collections offer many fine and diverse examples. In part this is because in printmaking, artists create images - inscribed or etched in copper, drawn on stone, carved into wood, or blocked out on silkscreen - that are used to produce an edition, or limited number, of original prints. Since they are multiples, prints are generally more widely available and modestly priced than paintings or drawings and hence often reach a larger, more democratic audience.

Works by Alex Katz, Rupert Garcia, Keith Jacobshagen, Ed Ruscha, Barbara Kendrick, Martin Puryear and Tanya Softic reveal the creative power of printmaking. Please click on the link to view more photos (to the lower right on this page) to see additional artworks from the exhibition.

Jan Driesbach, the Sheldon's director and curator of this exhibition, will discuss the works at the Second Sunday Gallery Walk on Sunday, November 12, at 2 p.m.