Exhibition Statement

Can a repeatable matrix be the instructor teaching students to make prints?

Can a repeatable matrix be an action for an edition made up of a place, a plate, a print, and an idea?

Can a repeatable matrix be a loom for weaving images?

Can a repeatable matrix be a method for immortalizing histories of marginalized peoples?

Can a repeatable matrix be a metaphor for a body in transition?

Can a repeatable matrix redefine the American story?

The exhibition Artists’ Proof presents the work of nine early career artists who each challenge traditional printmaking norms by applying print principles outside of institutional boundaries. They were introduced to the medium at Columbia College Chicago in a series of elective courses from 2019 – 2023. Oftentimes proofs are deemed as inconsequential artifacts of the editioning process, yet, for the artists exhibited, the title Artists’ Proof emphasizes the importance of play and exploration inherent in printmaking.

These artists used the print shop as a vital component of their practice– they blend printmaking techniques to include painting, digital illustration, bookmaking, wheat pasting, tattooing, collaboration, and conceptual installation. Despite minimal access to a print shop, a printmaking community, or institutional backing following their graduation, these folx have sought out resources, jury-rigged their bedrooms, hustled wares, and conceptualized their thinking to shift ideas about the matrix and subvert the edition. 

Historically, printmaking processes have required time, exposure, and resources that become harder to access outside academic institutions. Addressing these flaws in this inequitable dynamic presents a moment for communal growth among folx with marginalized identities. New generations of printmakers have been folding in perspectives from a more diverse landscape of artists, and are reinvigorating our structural view of the discipline, who it is for, and what it can create. Artist’s Proof presents a subversion of a singular, technique-heavy, cis/hetero/white majority-driven interpretation of the traditional Western canon of the print process. 

The hierarchy within printmaking is reinforced by the contemporary art world hierarchy it operates under. Debates on high art versus low art and academic integrity have led us away from what makes printmaking so special: the power of the people. We are living during a time of mass protest, political mobilization, and the redefining of American identity. By reminding ourselves that printmaking exists globally as a popular and diverse process utilized for adornment, commerce, reproduction, and information sharing, we can begin to reevaluate our definitions of prestige. 

In the end, Artists’ Proof poses, who better to lead us into a new way of being than the next generation?

*A special thanks to Atlan Arceo-Witzl, Annie Kielman, Esther Manske, and Maddie Vaccaro for our long conversations and editing powers.