Under the Sun: Artists of Sol Print Studio
Under the Sun brings together 14 artists whose work explores the rich potential of
solar plate etching and non-toxic printmaking as a means to convey personal
aesthetic. From landscape to text-based and figurative to abstract, their
prints brim with passion while presenting a spectrum of inspiration and source
material.
Katherine Kavanaugh, Randi Reiss-McCormack and
Oletha DeVane use symbols to comment on the human condition. In Kavanaugh’s Refugee
Series I, spectral images of Afghani tents and camps evoke displacement and
transience. Reiss-McCormack’s Looking for a Herd enlists the image of an
anthropomorphized cow to upend the stereotype of a cowgirl, and in Underfriction,
a fragmented rollercoaster spins out of control. DeVane channels her subject’s
underlying spiritual meaning into a personal prayer, story or myth, as the
transformation of a shimmering temple complex in Spirit House attests.
Mundane objects acting as human surrogates animate
the work of Joe Kabriel, Catherine Behrent, and Ruth Pettus. In Kabriel’s
diaristic Red Book Series, images of coffee cups suggest an oasis from
the frenzied of everyday experience. In Entry, Behrent depicts some of her
son’s toy cowboys riding into L’Heure Bleue, that mysterious time of twilight
and transition. Equally charged, Pettus’ studies of worn shoes conjure the wear
and tear of experience, as well as spiritual resilience.
Ruby Yunis, Michelle LaPerriere and Gloria Askin
weave memories into their layered narratives. In works like Parallel
Universes, Yunis seeks to bridge her inner world with outer spaces, using
forms from sacred geometry to fashion a “portrait” of her soul. In La
Perriere’s Waxing, nature and geometry converge into a liminal moment,
where thoughts and feelings converse with weather and place. Updating the traditional
still life, Looking for Perfection transforms Askin’s passion for
travel, color, and flowers into a complex web of lyrical expression.
Ordered chaos lies at the core of Leslie Portney,
Jane Eifler, and Ken Huston’s practices. In Asian Way, Eifler draws on personal
engagement with popular culture to construct a rich abstract language embedded
with human references. Huston’s conceptual works, including Target, and Power,
distill words and form into potent, visual puzzles. In Expansion of Circles
and Squares, Portney’s mark making achieves dynamic equilibrium through
playful improvisation and formal analysis.
In the works of Christine Neill and Soledad Salamé,
an interest in science and the environment add urgency to their quest for
balance. Neill collects, and then transforms plant specimens into parables to address
the effects of inter-species life on earth’s endangered habitat, while Salamé,
inspired by her research at the ALMA observatory, abstracts images of telescopes
into an energetic play of form and shadow to draw connections between our
planet and beyond.
Sol Print
Studio
Founded in 2009 by Soledad Salamé, Sol Print
Studio is a facility in Baltimore, MD, dedicated to solar plate etching and
non-toxic printmaking techniques. During residencies, artists create
prints, editions, and collaborative works. They also develop
specific projects, and are guided from conception to completion by Director Salamé
or Associate Director Reiss-McCormack. Collaboration, an exchange of ideas, and
high quality prints are hallmarks of SPS.
