Joslyn Art Museum has announced “Under Pressure: Contemporary Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation”, comprising work by 39 artists spanning the last five decades. Tracing major currents in the art world, as well as developments specific to printmaking, the exhibition addresses how the print rose to prominence in postwar American art.
Bringing together artists from different time periods who work in an array of media and styles, the exhibition is said to “illustrate the print’s infinite versatility and the ways in which it has impacted many artists’ broader practices”.
The exhibition at Joslyn opens on October 6 and continues through January 6.
Jordan Schnitzer’s collection includes prints from the 1960s to the twenty-first century. Exhibition highlights include: prints by Jasper Johns and Robert Rauschenberg, among the earliest artists to integrate printmaking into their practices; Roger Shimomura’s lithographic series Mistaken Identities; former political activist Enrique Chagoya’s use of printmaking for propaganda, information dissemination, and grassroots social movements; John Baldessari’s printmaking since the 1970s; and Ellen Gallagher’s mixed-media portfolio deLuxe (2004-5).
The earliest works featured in the Under Pressure exhibition at Joslyn are mid-1960s prints by Omaha-born Edward Ruscha; the latest, a 2009 print by Hung Liu. The youngest artist is Radcliffe Bailey, a 44-year-old, Atlanta-based printmaker, and 11 of the 39 featured artists are women. All but five of the artists in the exhibition are still living and working.
On Friday, October 5, Joslyn members will enjoy a preview of the exhibition, featuring a conversation with Jordan Schnitzer.
