Benny Andrews

Patrice Renee Washington:

TALKING

September 12 - October 19, 2014

Opening Reception: Friday, September 12th  6 - 8 pm

Curated by Nora Rodriguez

TALKING grew out of a series of etchings gifted to Robert Blackburn by Benny Andrews. Andrews was among the many artists of color that gravitated to Blackburn's culturally diverse Printmaking Workshop in the mid 60's. The son of Georgia sharecroppers, Andrews became a seminal American painter known for richly textured portraits of southern life. Like Blackburn, Andrews remained a constant advocate for social justice through the arts until the end of his life in 2006.

Andrews’ works draw on a biting tactile syntax. They give voice to many of the struggles that initiated Blackburn's workshop in 1948: How do we mobilize for change? What is the legacy of American slavery? What lineage do black artists claim today?

TALKING aims to revisit these themes through the work of emerging artist, Patrice Renee Washington. Utilizing a range of familiar materials—from towel racks to car-fresheners— Washington has created a body of sculpture in response to a selection of Andrews' work. Washington's objects weave through culturally coded materials and "neutral" commercial armatures, drawing out ways in which race, class, and gender shade our domestic landscape.

TALKING is a dialogue in print, paint, wool, and Kool-aid powder. Both artists speak fiercely through their material sensitivity rather than explicitly depict fraught race relations. This exhibition is a platform to continue conversations that began when Blackburn opened his print shop sixty-six years ago, and that continue today at RBPMW.

Image Courtesy of Michael Rosenfeld Gallery; Benny Andrews, Circle Study #10, 1972, Oil on canvas with painted fabric collage

DRAWING WORKSHOP

with STEVE JOHNSON

Thursday, July 10th  6:30 - 8:00 pm

$25 members / $30 non-members

Blackburn 20|20

323 West 39th Street FL 5 New York, NY 10018

Back by popular demand, Steve Johnson returns for a night of drawing with a variety of charcoal materials and erasers. The workshop will explore additive and subtractive drawing techniques, compositional strategies, and mark making methods developed over Johnson's career as an artist and educator. As a special treat, Johnson will bring materials from abandoned portfolios and toy animals for students to draw from.  Grab a beer and a few friends and join the RBPMW community for the night!

Spit Bite Workshop

with Roser Sales

2 Sessions:

Thursday, April 17 and Tuesday, April 22  

6:30 - 9:30 pm

$125 members / $165 non-members
Includes ALL supplies and 6 hours of free studio time

Spit bite is a process for those that love the gestural mark of watercolor. We will work with brushes directly on the plate as if painting on canvas.  Spit bite, or “Lavis,” can be used to add tone to existing line etchings, or in combination with other intaglio techniques. No prior spit bite experience is required. Our scale will be limited to 12” x 12” for the studio. All materials, excluding brushes, are provided by the workshop.

Roser Sales Noguera is an artist-printmaker from Barcelona, Spain, where she operates her own print workshop. She has shown and taught internationally and is back at RBPMW by popular
demand! Althougth Noguera’s work focuses primarily on dry point and monoprint, she has recently completed a series of large woodcuts. Her latest project, "16 diferent ways to be touch,"  utilizes photopolimer plates, photos, video and instalation.

CLOSING RECEPTION

There Can Be Only One:

Recent RBPMW Monoprint Publications

Reception March 8th, 6-8 pm

Blackburn 20/20

323 West 39th Street 5th Floor

ARTIST TALK/DEMO: TUGBOAT PRINTSHOP

 

Thursday, Feb 20th    6:30 - 9 pm

RBPMW Studio

323 W 39th st. Flr 2

Join Tugboat Printshop as they talk in depth about their collaborative color woodcut prints & process. Artists Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth will discuss their daily operations running a start-up artist press & show examples of their many original color woodcut prints published over the past 7 years working together. The artists will demonstrate the printing of one of their full color prints & will have additional examples of their work and blocks for browsing.

ABOUT TUGBOAT:

Paul Roden and Valerie Lueth are the collaborative woodcut artists Tugboat Printshop. The couple has been publishing their traditionally hand-crafted color woodblock print editions from Pittsburgh, PA since 2006. Their intricate color woodcuts celebrate the natural world and our relationship to it. With extreme focus on craft and detail, the artists build idealistic, meticulously patterned worlds with their printed images. Rich color is layered in multiple impressions from hand-drawn, hand-carved and individually printed wood blocks. Tugboat Printshop's narrative is one of sustainability, resourcefulness, and upbeat do-good attitude. To view Tugboat Printshop's woodblock prints, visit www.tugboatprintshop.com.