RICHMOND, VA.- The 2008 Harnett Biennial of American Prints is the eighth competitive national exhibition organized by the University of Richmond Museums and is a celebration of contemporary printmaking by artists throughout the United States. The juror, James Stroud, master printer, artist, and founder/director of Center Street Studio, Milton, Massachusetts, selected forty-seven prints by thirty-two artists from twenty-two states from entries submitted by 284 artists. The exhibition is on view from March 28 to June 6, 2008.
In his juror’s statement, Stroud says, “I am told this year set a record for entries. Although looking through them all thoughtfully and carefully provide a daunting task, the large number of prints provided me with a greater opportunity to gather together an exhibition of very high quality with a specific focus, while simultaneously displaying a wide range of printmaking media.”
Stroud continues, “Choosing a theme was imperative to me. The theme that emerged the strongest out of the group of entries and was most compelling was one that included structure, system, process, and pattern as predominant means to pursue the artists’ ideas. And I found this occurred in abstract and representational work alike. I also chose to include, whenever possible, two examples of an artist’s work. More prints by fewer artists allows for a slightly deeper view into each artist’s search.”
The participating artists are: AWG (Columbia, Missouri), Magda Baker (Seattle, Washington), John Baldessari (Santa Monica, California), Kim Beckmann (Oshkosh, Wisconsin), Kyle Bryant (Boston, Massachusetts), Chris Burden (Topanga, California), Randy Clark (Brookings, South Dakota), Ann Conrad (New Canaan, Connecticut), Stefanie Dykes (Salt Lake City, Utah), Stephen Fisher (Warren, Rhode Island), Carl Fudge (New York, New York), Isabel Gouveia (Lantana, Florida), Alexis Granwell (Philadelphia, Pennsylvania), Dirk Hagner (San Juan Capistrano, California), Amelia Hankin (Providence, Rhode Island), Yuji Hiratsuka (Corvallis, Oregon), Dale Klein (Rochester, New York), Sarah Laing (College Park, Maryland), Melinda Laz (Denver, Colorado), Jeanne Lorenz (Canyon, California) and Billy Sprague (Oakland, California), Jane Masters (Providence, Rhode Island), Nichole Maury (Kalamazoo, Michigan), Martin McFadden (Richmond, Virginia), Teresa Mikulan (Newark, Delaware), Wayne Miyamoto (Hilo, Hawaii), Sean P. Morissey (Salem, Ohio), Matt Mullican (New York, New York), James O. Mustin III (Roxbury, Massachusetts), Thomas Nawrocki (Columbus, Mississippi), Jason Urban (Murphysboro, Illinois), and Peter Van Ael (Montgomery, Illinois).
The opening reception and the exhibition are presented in conjunction with commandprint: The 37th Annual Southern Graphics Council National Conference, held in Richmond, Virginia, March 26 through 29, 2008, and hosted by Virginia Commonwealth University School of the Arts, Department of Painting and Printmaking and the Center for Digital Print Media. For details: www.southerngraphics.org or www.sgc.vcu.edu .