Exhibition Info
IMPRINTS
The word imprint can be defined in two ways. As a verb it can be described as making a distinctive mark or impression; the act of stamping or printing on a surface. As a noun, imprint can refer to something or someone that affects another deeply as to mind or feelings (Collins Paperback English Thesaurus, pg. 318).
Both of these meanings of the word imprint are appropriate when describing the Alberta Foundation for the Arts Travelling exhibition Imprints. Presenting print-based art works from the collection of the Alberta Foundation for the Arts, this exhibition explores print-making as a means of artistic expression throughout history and within Alberta over the past century. With art works ranging from traditional woodblock prints from the early twentieth century to computer-generated imagery from the twenty-first century, the exhibition Imprints examines various printmaking processes and considers the development of print-making as a form of visual expression in Alberta.
Through the above examination the exhibition Imprints also recognizes a few of the many individuals who, through their artistic efforts and educational/administrative roles, have made indelible impressions on the visual arts both in Alberta and beyond the province’s borders. Whether responsible, like Maxwell Bates, John Snow or George Weber, for introducing printmaking processes to the province or, as witnessed in the careers of Sylvain Voyer, Walter Jule, Lyndal Osborne, Marc Siegner and Robin Smith Peck, active in establishing art centers integral to the promotion of print-making and the visual arts, the artists represented in this exhibition have influenced a multitude of other artists and added immeasurably to Alberta’s cultural landscape.
Over the course of the twentieth and into the twenty-first century print-making as a form of artistic expression has definitely made its mark on the visual arts scene in Alberta. The exhibition Imprints recognizes the significance of print media and acknowledges some of the individuals responsible for the stature of both printmaking and various art institutions on the provincial, national and international art stages.
Imprints was curated by Shane Golby, Manager/Curator, Art Gallery of Alberta, Region 2 of the AFA Travelling Exhibition Program.
