Printmaking by Anna M. Simson, Patrick Rowe and Samantha Lautman
November 22nd - December 24th 2008
For The Cabinet II, a follow up of the 2003 group printmaking show at 21 Grand, we focused on three emerging artists whose work primarily uses traditional methods of printmaking, yet pushes the limits of their respective mediums.
Anna M. Simson’Äôs artwork is built layer by layer, incorporating printmaking processes with photography, stencils, and digital media. This layering is both simultaneous to and a metaphor for the layering of ideas that go into the work. Over time the ideas, stemming from seemingly mundane elements, expand and multiply, becoming a visual record of time and thought. In this series of prints the artist embraces themes of magical realism, Bay Area urban landscape (such as Muni cables and the Bay Bridge retrofit), and chaotic space constructed through overlapping pattern. Expectations become jumbled. Surveillance cameras turn into flowering plants, and chilis turn into rain clouds. Anna M. Simson is an MFA candidate at CCA and completed her BFA at UC Berkeley. Recent Exhibitions include Mujeres Visionarias and Solo Mujeres at Mission Grafica, Arte Latino at Sanchez Art Center in Pacifia, and Dia de los Muertos at the De Young and Legion of Honor.
Samantha Lautman works on a tiny and intricate level, yet her use of experimentation within the medium is innovative and unique. Her prints are like fossils leaving impressions on paper ’Äì they preserve the memory of the people and places around her. Portraits, cityscapes and domestic interiors are etched onto non-traditional printmaking surfaces such as pennies, transportation tickets, or fake credit cards. These are objects that leave a trace of their own significance that contributes to the drawn imagery. Lautman received her BFA from CCA inn 2003, and was the recipient of the prestigious Yozo Hamaguchi Scholarship. She has been an artist in residence at Kala, and recent exhibitions include There! at the DiRosa Preserve in Napa, Terror? at San Francisco’Äôs Intersection for the Arts, and Multiples and The Cabinet Print Show at 21Grand in Oakland.
Patrick Rowe’Äôs work explores the relationship between chance and control. Reaching back to the oldest form of lithography, Rowe uses limestone as his printing block, as it is porous, holds ink well, and contains fossil remnants. The raw printed relief of the stone's surface reveals an amalgamation of residual etched images of previous work, as well as the natural fingerprint of the limestone’Äôs veins and reticulations. Using the entire surface as his background, he layers images taken from architectural drawings, self portraits, visceral photographs, and abstractions to create the final composition. The work becomes a reflection of artistic decision-making and the material itself. Patrick Rowe attained his BFA at Carnegie Mellon University in 2005. He spent a year as an artist in residence at Kala Art Institute, and currently lives and works In Cairo, Egypt.