“Mentors & Friends” Exhibition

Located within the quiet nook of the University of Louisville’s Hite Art Institute in Schneider Hall within the Morris Belknap Gallery, the art exhibition titled, “Mentors & Friends: Midwest Printmakers’ Networks”, displays works ranging from hyper-realism to abstraction, and possesses prints spanning several decades. This exhibition even includes the work of well-known Abstract Expressionist painter Sam Gilliam, who received both his BA and MFA from the University of Louisville, with his work titled Untitled (From Unicorn Papers series) (1985); which was a monotype with paint, made on handmade paper. But, the two artists who really stole the show were printmakers Dennis Rowan and Lynwood Kreneck.

Dennis Rowan, born in 1938 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is a distinguished printmaker known for his intaglio prints. Rowan’s intaglio print titled, Je me souviens (or Judy a jamais) (n.d)—which translates to “I remember” in French—depicts a smiling woman’s disembodied head, who seems to be leering at the viewer through a frame, with a mountain landscape behind her. Below the woman’s head, are a series of abstract, spherical forms, that lend an otherworldly factor to the work. The mood of the piece is very reminiscent of the surreal works of Salvador Dalí, who also often depicts figures in abstract—and sometimes appalling—manners. The total work by Rowan measures at 18 inches by 25 inches, and while the work is not imposing in scale, the astute attention to detail makes this work seem larger than life.

Lynwood Kreneck, born in 1936, is an innovator in the printmaking world, and is highly renowned for his influence in regards to the development of water-based screen-print ink, and is responsible for having a hand in the development of the current screen-printing methods associated with this media. Lynwood Kreneck’s After the Hunt: The Collector (2010)—a color screen-print measuring at 10 inches by 22 inches—is one of the first works that one sees when walking into the “Mentors & Friends: Midwest Printmakers’ Networks” exhibition, and is truly eye-catching. The work consists of a wide array of subjects, and seems to be set in a toy shop of some sort. Kreneck includes within the work a penguin windup toy laying on a table, a bright pink car and an army green airplane and a bronze windup key hanging from the ceiling, and, in the foreground, the head of a Jack-in-the-Box in the shadows, and a blue toy gun which is seemingly pointed at the viewer. This work has a garish, almost nightmarish quality, that instantly draws the viewer in and demands that they question the piece. Such as: are the toys sentient? What motivation or reasoning did Kreneck have for having the gun pointed at the viewer? What are the possible connections or links between all of these seemingly unrelated objects? Questions such as these are drawn from the viewer, and these queries that seek to decode this artwork are responsible, in part, for Kreneck’s success with the mood of this piece. While one could think of the end product of screen-printing to be produced in a typical Pop Art style—characterized by bright, solid color blocks, and bold outlines—when coupled with Kreneck’s vaguely unsettling subject matter of a shadowy toy shop rendered with bright blocks of color, the work comes more like frightening dreamscape rather than a bright and lively scene. But, Kreneck seems to pull off this balance of media and subject matter with ease, and with an unparalleled proficiency.  Kreneck’s work, in short, completely and unequivocally draws the viewer in, and forces one to interact with the piece, and to acknowledge this work as a masterful example of screen-printing.

            If one wishes to acquaint themselves with the world of printmaking, and to be exposed to a wide variety of styles and printmakers within one setting, one would be remiss to not visit the “Mentors & Friends: Midwest Printmakers’ Networks” Exhibition, which will continue to run through November 4^th, 2016 within the Morris Belknap Gallery located on the University of Louisville’s campus.

- Katelyn Ragsdale