During the SGCI conference, some exceptional printmaking was exhibited in spaces and galleries around Portland. A personal highlight for me was seeing the outstanding experimental letterpress work of John Risseeuw, who received this years’ SGCI Printmaker Emeritus Award. His work, political, thought-provoking, relevant and captivating was also beautifully made. Opening night in the gallery space at PSU (Portland State University) was jam packed with printmakers given the opportunity to get a close up look of his life’s work in print and artist’s books. I found his keynote speech very inspiring and full of humour and modesty.
I had been looking forward to visiting 23 Sandy Gallery, a fine art gallery space in eastside Portland dedicated to presenting local and national artists working in contemporary book and paper arts. The exhibition launching during SGCI, ‘Shift-Lab: Trace’, involved several of my favourite artist’s working in fine print and book arts. Katie Baldwin, based in Alabama and Sarah Bryant, based in Brighton, UK are two artists that continue to inspire my practice. The collaboration of 5 female printmakers that form the ‘Shift-Lab’ collective presented a stunning project entitled ‘Trace’. The prints and book works were exceptionally made and displayed in a way that invited visitors to engage with the work, taking time to carefully handle the prints in an atmosphere that made them accessible. I came away feeling full of ideas about how galleries could encourage the handling of artists’ books in more inspired ways than I have previously seen in the UK.
