PORT TOWNSEND — The Northwind Arts Center and Corvidae Press will present “The Printmaker’s Hand IV,” a juried exhibit of contemporary prints, starting this weekend.
The exhibit opened Thursday and will be open during the gallery walk, starting at 5:30 p.m. Saturday at Northwind, 701 Water St.
A talk about the exhibit is scheduled for 1 p.m. Sunday at the center.
According to a news release, fine prints are not reproductions but individual works of art transferred to paper either by a press or by hand.
Some techniques allow multiple editions to be made while others, such as monoprint, are a single unique image like a painting.
The process allows artists to create everything from detailed realistic images to subtle abstract and impressionistic works.
The juror for “The Printmaker’s Hand IV” will be Bob Kochs, who has selected works from 31 artists across the western states including Washington, Oregon, California and Alaska.
The 45 pieces in this show represent both traditional techniques such as woodcut and etching to more modern forms such as collagraph, monoprint and serigraph.
Kochs is the founder and owner of the Augen Gallery in Portland, Ore., which is known for its representation of contemporary regional printmakers as well as works of major American and European artists such as David Hockney, Robert Motherwell and Frank Stella.
Artist Showcase
The featured artist of the month for July is printmaker Monica Gutierrez-Quarto.
Northwind will host an artist reception during Saturday’s art walk from 5:30 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Gutierrez-Quarto earned her bachelor of fine arts at the University of Chile and for the last 25 years she has been creating prints while participating in exhibitions in Chile and the U.S.
“I want my art to represent a world with more hope, trying through art to help heal the soul of people who have lost connection with nature,” she said.
Her woodcuts are inspired by the beauty of the Olympic Peninsula and its wild and pristine wealth of mountains, forests, beaches and rivers, according to a news release. Water, an essential element for life and creation, is often used in her prints.
Her goal is to try to capture the soul and essence of the landscapes using a limited color palette contrasted with sharp black ink and white spaces.
For information, call Northwind at 360-379-1086 or go to http://northwindarts.org.
