Intern Perspectives: WPG April Member Exhibition

Jennifer Block, our intern from the University of Maryland, wrote the following reaction to our current April Member Exhibition. This show will continue through Sunday, April 27 in The Press Room.

In The Press Room, an array of prints done by the gallery’s members are featured. Each print has a very distinct style, ranging from Nina Muys’ pastel-like flower print, to Max-Karl Winkler’s black-and-white woodcut. Each print stands out in its own way, due to size, subject, or technique. The small gallery space allows for the visitor to circle the room slowly and carefully and give each piece the attention that it deserves. I was particularly drawn to Ron Mieck’s piece, Citreon, due to its unusual dimensions. Its long, vertical shape made me look closely at the detail involved in creating such an interestingly shaped print. The small intricate piece done by Margaret Adams Parker titled Bagatelle, 5, is a quaint, square piece with a large border. The small print draws the viewer in and makes you look up close to see the details and hard work put into it.

“Blossoms II” by Michael Hagan

I also enjoyed Michael Hagan’s screenprint, Blossoms II, which reminds me of the Japanese block print style with a modern twist. The range of subject and style is what kept me moving throughout the room to see what the next piece had to offer. Yolanda Frederikse executed the landscape in a more traditional way, using the monotype process and a classic style landscape composition. It is interesting to compare and contrast the styles and techniques. Overall, the small room packs so much talent and beauty in each print, you could spend just as much time in The Press Room as you could in the rest of the gallery.

Extraktions in the Post!

“Yellow Dog #1” by Ron Meick

In case you missed Sunday’s Washington Post, you can read Mark Jenkins’ review of Ron Meick’s solo show, Extraktions, at this link.  We like that Mr. Jenkins thought “the skill with which [Ron] executes his prints is extraordinary,” we’d have to agree!  You have until June 30 to see the exhibition.

Intern Perspectives: Extraktions

Oliver Coley, our summer intern from Smith College, wrote the following reaction to Ron Meick’s current solo exhibition at WPG. You can read more perspectives from Oliver over the next few weeks. Check back soon!

“Yellow Dog #1” by Ron Meick

As I walked around the gallery looking at Ron Meick’s colorful monotypes, I appreciated the small labels, showing the thoughts behind some of his pieces that were scattered throughout the room. Dealing with themes of de-construction and re-construction, the crumpled paper prints are coded with rich context waiting to be deciphered. In “Yellow Dog” and “Yellow Dog II,” the excavated skeleton of a dog has been disassembled and printed on the folded and crumpled paper. To Meick, the marks of the re-arranged bones represent the marks left by our attachment to animals. Around the corner, the Mandarin character of Tibet has been broken into pieces and re-arranged as shapes across the paper. The fragments of the character stand for the culture of Tibet, broken up across the page to represent the Chinese Huns’ attempt to dismantle it.

The “Crumpled Print” series

Across from “Mandarin character of Tibet,” and sitting in the center of the room, Meick’s piece “Crumpled Print” walks the line between print and sculpture. The prints are monotypes that have been printed, colored, crumpled, and then placed under protective glass cubes. Where in some of his other pieces the paper was crumpled before printing, this piece generates a very different feeling of taking each carefully printed monotype and crushing it into a ball. In the action of crumpling, each print is transformed into an object that is then displayed under its own individual cube. Seeing a more three dimensional work really showcased the visual language that Meick works with, because although it was a different approach than his other work, the colors and mark making on each crumpled ball were very much connected to the rest of the prints.

Another set of prints that stood out stylistically from the rest were the two lithographs on the right side of the room. “Look of those with vanishing importance” and “Glimpse of those that faced the day” both depict a cluster of small colored ovals with little black sketches of people’s faces places inside each oval. These miniature portraits, printed using pebbles, are the faces of all the people who appear in a single issue of the Wall St. Journal. There is no crumpled paper or loose scratches and gestures in bold colors but you can still see Meick’s language in the fragments of information extracted from a source and arranged around the print. The title of the show, Extraktions, is very well fitted.

Show Pics: Extraktions and more

Wow!  Ron really pulled out all the stops with his first solo show as a WPG member!  He has sculpture, monoprints, and sculpted monoprints of all different shapes and sizes.  If that wasn’t enough, we also have The Listening Room-Refugee Art Project installed in the Press Room this month.  We hope the images below entice you to come to the opening reception, this Saturday, 1-4 pm.

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Saturday Slideshow: The Artists of “Connections”

Tomorrow from 2-4 pm, the Chaney Gallery (Maryland Hall, Annapolis, MD) hosts the opening of “Connections,” a show featuring artists of multiple media.  4 of those 5 artists are WPG members.  So, if you’re in the area, be sure to stop by!

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Welcome to New Member Ron Meick!

“Four Day in May: AAPL” Monotype/Watercolor.

We want to introduce you to our newest artist member, Ron Meick (pronounced “Mike”)!  In this current economic climate, we find Ron’s prints very timely, as he has a whole series that use commodity and stock charts as inspiration.  (Check out one from his “Four Days” suite, at left.)

Ron Meick was born in Sidney, NE and received his BFA in Sculpture from RISD. He now lives and works in Arden, DE.  He says of his work:

In a world economy, cultural changes are communicated quickly and can be originated anywhere on the globe. They can also move slowly and almost undetected to emerge as obvious. Both can be personally relevant. I believe in a pluralistic and inclusive process of object making. My work contains residue from the visual environment such as world events, archeological, economic, scientific and social developments. Of particular interest is chaos theory, in which slight change can lead to unknown results.

You can read Ron’s full artist statement and see more of his prints on our website at the link above.