New England's Best to Exhibit; Opening Reception Sunday, May 1

It's amazing how much can change in a half century. And nowhere is that more true than in the world of art.

Proof of that fact will be gloriously on view at the Gallery of Contemporary Art at Sacred Heart University with the opening of “Singular and Unique”, the celebratory exhibition of monotypes and/or monoprints from the Monotype Guild of New England.

The exhibit opens on Sunday, May 1 with a reception from 1-3 PM. Jazz will be performed by the Carol Sudhalter Duo. On Thursday, May 5 at 7 PM, there will be an Art Talk by juror Flo Hatcher, a printmaker who also has over 25 years of teaching experience. The public is cordially invited these events.

A mere fifty years ago, the monotype and monoprint were considered by mainstream printmakers to be the stepchild of the medium, almost frivolous in technique. Because a they are one-of-a-kind prints pulled from a painting, artists of the time thought that painting and printmaking processes were much more elaborate and demanded greater attention to detail. They felt superior to the artists who were pursuing monotypes and monoprints.

But that all changed when an exhibit of monotypes by Degas was presented at the Fogg Art Museum at Harvard University. Once it was discovered that monotypes were his “most intimate form of expression” the attitude of the art world began to change.

New England artist Michael Mazur noted in “Monotype:An Artist's View” that “monotype is a painter's medium…born of the painter's imagination and restlessness.” He adds that “monotypes are unique impressions of ink transferred to paper from a relatively non-porous surface upon which an image has been lifted.” The results are often stunning.

“A painterly print is still a print,” Mazur said, and a great deal of surprise is built into printmaking. Lifting the paper off the surface is a tense and revelatory moment.” As a viewer will see in the range of monotypes and monoprints in this exhibition, that revelatory moment can encompass everything from the seemingly simple to the obviously complex.

“Using the medium's direct-transfer imagery, works in this exhibit include combinations of intaglio and relief, etching and chine colle, ghost or cognate impressions, plates worked in oil or water-based inks, and woodcut monoprints, all printed on a variety of papers,” said juror Hatcher. “They present a variety of examples of the form that are inviting and intriguing.

“The Monotype Guild of New England is celebrating its 20th anniversary as an institution that is dedicated to promoting the unique print,” says Sophia Gevas, director of the Gallery of Contemporary Art. “For students and art lovers, this show offers an opportunity to view a large range of techniques and approaches to the monotype medium.”

“Singluar and Unique” presents the work of thirty-six artists selected from over 200 artist members of the Monotype Guild of New England. These monotypes or monoprints exhibit “nuanced impressions of this painterly medium and a dedication to the development of the craft,” said juror Flo Hatcher.

Contact: Funda Alp (alpf@sacredheart.edu) 

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