Learning the art of print

WHAT: Jerome Emerging Printmakers Exhibition
WHEN: Reception and Meet-the-Artists event, May 28, 6:30 – 9 p.m., exhibit runs May 28 – June 26
WHERE: Highpoint Center for Printmaking, 912 Lake St. W., Mpls.

For many artists who prefer to be intricately involved with every part of their processes, there’s a lot more to making prints than paying a fee at Kinko’s .
The Highpoint Center for Printmaking aims to facilitate the art of print by providing space and materials for artists as well as exhibitions for the community. For a select few, the Jerome Emerging Printmakers’ Residency grants access to Highpoint’s facilities, complete with a stipend and expert critiques, all for a co-pay of $35 per month.
This year’s artists covered a vast range, from abstract and conceptual to comic-inspired narratives. The media used span the breadth of printmaking techniques, from photopolymer to lithography to silkscreen.
Expect to hear plenty of buzz around exhibitor and University of Minnesota alumnus Miles Mendenhall, who will be a contestant on Bravo’s “Work of Art: The Next Great Artist,” which premieres June 9. Mendenhall has created everything from abstract sculptures to colorful illustrations. His Highpoint residency was spent using black and white patterns to explore the computer threshold between visual imagery and nonsense.
In contrast to Mendenhall’s conceptual series of prints are painter Justin Terlecki’s travel prints, inspired by his sketchbooks from India and Spain. Terlecki, a graduate of Youngstown State University in Ohio , went through the painstaking process of etching out his prints on lithographically and then adding up to 30 layers of color using silkscreen.
“I just like drawing figures and drawing a story, trying to create an atmosphere where the viewer can immerse themselves into the picture,” Terlecki explained.
Also using silkscreen is University alumna Katinka Galanos, who combines that technique with photopolymer processes that allow daylight to change the colors of the work. Her prints recreate the dedication pages from books.
“Some of her work she’s putting in the show is basically white ink on white paper. You have to look at them very closely to see the subtleties,” Terlecki said.
Highpoint Executive Director Carla McGrath pointed out that the Jerome Residency aims to feature artists that are pointedly different from one another.
“Their work is always unique,” she said, explaining that the exhibit is not structured thematically.
Those interested in applying for next year’s residency can sign up at highpointprintmaking.org and turn in applications by July 19.