The Grunwald Gallery at Indiana University is pleased to announce Midwest Matrix: Continuum and Dennis McNett: Wolfbat Offerings: Blooming Grove and the Luck of the Cardinal. These exhibitions will open Friday, August 29 and continue through Wednesday, October 1. A gallery talk and opening reception will be held on Friday, August 29 from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm at the Grunwald Gallery.

Participating Artists – Midwest Matrix

Jennifer Anderson (Roanoke, VA)
Ellie Honl (Bloomington, IN)
James Bailey (Missoula, MT)
Anita Jung (Iowa City, IA)
Wendy Calman (Bloomington, IN)
Michael Krueger (Lawrence, KS)
Jason Clark (Missoula, MT)
Karen Kunc (Avoca, NE)
Carmon Colangelo (St. Louis, MO)
Carrie Lingscheit (Chicago, IL)
Tyler Ferreira (Long Beach, CA)
Joseph Lupo (Morgantown, WV)
Oscar Gillespie (Peoria, IL)
Kristen Martincic (Roswell, NM)
Susan Goldman (Fairfax, VA)
Danielle Peters (Emporia, KS)
Dusty Herbig (Syracuse, NY)
Roxanne Sexauer (Long Beach, CA)
John Hitchcock (Madison, WI)
Star Varner (Georgetown, TX)

Midwest Matrix: Continuum explores the “Midwest tradition” of printmaking, featuring over 20 artists highlighting this history and calling attention to the next generation of artists. Susan Goldman, Director of Lily Press in Rockville, MD and former professor of printmaking and master printer for Navigation Press at George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, created the documentary Midwest Matrix. This film explores the history of fine art printmaking in the American Midwest. European expatriate artists and their students, post--‐World War II, either transformed existing or founded influential workshops and printmaking departments in Midwestern universities. Goldman’s documentary examines the strong sense of community that prevails and how it continues to manifest itself. Mentors of this Midwest printmaking tradition will exhibit alongside nominated former students, who have gone on to have active careers of their own. Dennis McNett, one of these former students, will create a print installation in conjunction with the Midwest Matrix: Continuum symposium. His installation, titled Wolfbat Offerings: Blooming Grove and the Luck of the Cardinal, will focus on the Cardinal as the state bird of Indiana with a rich mythological history. He will exemplify the Midwest tradition of printmaking by collaborating with students at Indiana University through workshops by assisting to create his installation in the gallery. Midwest Matrix articulates a history and the legacy of fine art printmaking in the American Midwest and poses the question: What is the “Midwest tradition” of printmaking?

This exhibition is shown in conjunction with the Midwest Matrix: Continuum symposium at Indiana University from September 19 – 21.

These exhibits and corresponding programs were made possible by The College Arts and Humanities Institute, The Grunwald Gallery of Art, and the Printmaking workshop, all at Indiana University.

A Short Introduction to the Artists

Jennifer Anderson is a visual artist who has recently relocated from the West Coast to Southwest Virginia where she teaches studio art at Hollins University. Interested in the persistence of memory, her work has long focused on the ephemeral through the selection of materials and process.

James Bailey is currently an artist and Professor in the School of Art at The University of Montana and in 1998 he established Matrix Press, the publishing component of the print program. James continues his research into both traditional and experimental approaches in printmaking.

Wendy Calman joined the Printmaking faculty at Indiana University in 1976, and she was Co-Head of the Printmaking area until her retirement in 2011 as Professor Emeritus. Her work presents a complex body of information, both visual and sensory, as well as a heavily loaded symbolism.

Jason Clark resides in Missoula, Montana as a printmaker, Adjunct Professor and the 2D Technician in the School of Art a the University of Montana. His work is rooted in the traditional stories, teachings, and beliefs of his ancestors and the erroneous stories, teachings, and beliefs of western society about Native Americans.

Carmon Colangelo is the Dean of the Sam Fox School of Design and Visual Arts and E. Desmond Lee Professor for Collaboration in the Arts at Washington University in St. Louis. His work combines surrealism and abstraction with the exploration of art history, science and technology.

Tyler Ferreira is an Adjunct Instructor of printmaking and drawing at both Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles and Long Beach City College.

Oscar Gillespie is a Professor of Art at Bradley University, where he has been a member of the faculty since January of 1986. He teaches printmaking and drawing. As a printmaker, he is noted for his expertise in monotypes and in intaglio, especially metal-plate engraving.

Susan Goldman is Artistic Director/Owner of Lily Press in Rockville, Maryland, and was Adjunct Professor/Master Printer for Navigation Press at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA. Goldman was a Resident Artist at Handprint Workshop International where she received a National Endowment for the Arts Grant 2011-12, to complete as producer and director “Midwest Matrix,” an hour-long documentary on the fine art printmaking tradition of the American Midwest.

Dusty Herbig is an assistant professor in the Department of Art at Syracuse University in Central New York, where he teaches lithography, intaglio, serigraphy, relief, and all levels of advanced and graduate courses. He also serves as the director and master printer of Lake Effect Editions, the press of the Syracuse University printmaking program.

John Hitchcock is an Artist and Professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison where he teaches screenprinting, relief cut, and installation art. His current works depict personal, social, and political views that are a blend of printmaking, digital imaging, video, and installation.

Ellie Honl is currently a Visiting Assistant Professor at Indiana University. Her multimedia work combines printmaking, painting, photography, video and sculpture. Her current series whimsically explores the many ways people cope with challenging situations and fears through the imagery of shelters and storms.

Anita Jung is a professor of the University of Iowa’s School of Art and Art History. She received a Bachelor of Fine Arts from Arizona State University where she majored in painting and drawing. The Master of Fine Arts was awarded to her from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she worked with Bill Weegee as a printer at Off Jones Road and Tandem Press.

Michael Krueger works in a variety of media including, painting, drawing, printmaking, animation, and ceramics. His ideas dictate the media and he floats freely between them. Krueger’s artwork reflects a deep interest in American history, contemporary American culture, art history, the human experience, and personal memoir.

Karen Kunc is the Willa Cather Professor of Art at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her work addresses issues of the landscape and natural surroundings as direct influences from her Nebraska heritage. She uses artistic interpretation to contemplate larger issues of the eternal life struggle, of endurance and vulnerability, growth and destruction.

Carrie Lingscheit creates work that exploits the subtleties of intaglio technique to explore the malleable nature of memory formation and recall, creating dubious narratives characterized by omission, distortion, and hyperbole.

Joseph Lupo has been the Printmaking Program Coordinator at West Virginia University’s School of Art and Design since 2004. His work is centered on issues of communication and different forms of reproduction. In 2005, he began to address how artists and writers communicate through comics.

Kristen Martincic received a BFA from Bowling Green State University and an MFA from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. Her recent prints, sculpture, and installation explore the connection between the body and water.

Dennis McNett has been carving surly block prints for over 18 years. His graphic aesthetic and love for narrative work has been translated in many ways. His work ranges from larger than life Viking ship performances and parades, masks, installations and sculptures to unique hand-carved wood cut pieces, traditional relief prints, and graphics.

Danielle Peters is an Adjunct Professor of 2D and 3D Design at Emporia State University in Emporia, KS. She is a multidisciplinary artist who works primarily with cut paper to create costumes, installations, sculptures and two-dimensional pieces.

Roxanne Sexauer is a Professor at California State University, Long Beach. There is a fetishism of the organic in her recent prints. Among Sexauer's influences are earlier prints made to depict various branches of both the animal and plant kingdoms.

Star Varner is a Professor of Art and Chair of Studio Art at Southwestern University’s Sarofim School of Fine Arts. Her work ranges from classically inspired, full-scale figurative painting to lyrical abstractions.