Gallery to highlight modern masters of printmaking

An opening reception for the show will be held from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. March 17, following a 3 p.m. slide lecture by Warrington Colescott, one of the printmakers represented in the collection. Colescott will talk in Room A102 of Scales Fine Arts Center and the reception will be held in the gallery lobby.

The show will feature Colescott’s series of eleven color etchings, “The History of Printmaking.” In the series, he satirizes eleven famous printmakers, while mimicking the styles used by each.

Wake Forest alumni donated many of the prints in the collection. Among these is James Rosenquist’s “Where the Water Goes,” which was recently donated by Wake Forest alumna Catherine Woodard and her husband, Nelson Blitz Jr.

Barry Moser’s four images of the “Cheshire Cat” are from the Pennyroyal Press’ 1982 publication of “Alice in Wonderland.” Forty artist’s proofs from the book were donated by Wake Forest alumnus Brian Stenfors and Richard Henning, the curator of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art.

Also in the show are four prints by Leon Golub, including “Wasted Youth I,” and six by California artist Roy DeForest, all donated by Kenneth Ogaki of Toronto. The most recently donated prints are by Canadian artists. Among these is “Gift Tractor,” a print by Canadian printmaker Kim Adams.

Martine Sherrill, curator of the A. Lewis Aycock Visual Resources Library at Wake Forest, is the curator of the collection and organized the exhibit.

Started with a $10,000 grant from the Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation in 1970, the Wake Forest Print Collection has grown steadily with gifts from Wake Forest friends, faculty and alumni. The art department has also purchased additions to the collection, which now includes more than 250 prints. The collection includes two 16th century prints by Albrecht Durer, as well as prints by Mark Chagall, Paul Cezanne and Pablo Picasso.

“The print collection is really quite remarkable in its range,” said Wake Forest art associate professor Bernadine Barnes. “Even though it is a relatively small collection, every important printmaking technique and the most significant artists are represented.”

“Because the print collection has such an impressive array of techniques, both old and new, it is a very valuable teaching tool,” said David Faber, Wake Forest associate professor of art and a printmaker.

The exhibition is open through March 29. Admission to the opening reception, art lecture and gallery are free. Wake Forest University Fine Arts Gallery is open weekdays, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. and 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. weekends. For information, call 336-758-5585.