Play: Selected Prints 2014-2024

December 5, 2024 – January 11, 2025

Opening Reception: Thursday, December 5, 2024, 6-8PM

The exhibition Play: Selected Prints 2014-2024 is a vibrant retrospective celebrating Planthouse Gallery’s decade-long journey in print publishing. Since its opening in 2013, Planthouse has continuously championed the art of printmaking. The gallery’s 2023 membership with the International Fine Print Dealers Association (IFPDA) further solidified its dedication to the medium, placing it within a thriving community of print-focused artists, galleries, and publishers.

Featuring an array of works from Planthouse’s earliest publishing efforts to its latest editions, Play showcases artists who embrace printmaking as both a process and an ethos. Among them are two new Planthouse artists, Wuon-Gean Ho and Lauren Drescher, who each bring their own unique approaches to the print medium. The exhibition juxtaposes notable works from different points in time, such as Simryn Gill’s Channel, a photogravure from 2014 that reflects the gallery’s initial foray into publishing, and Richard Dupont’s recent wood engraving, printed this fall by Erika Schneider at Bleu Acier studio.

Collaboration is often integral to printmaking adventures, guiding and deepening the creative process. Works like Katherine Bradford’s Giraffe, Victoria Burge’s Cirrus, and Ross Bleckner’s Untitled were brought to life at The Grenfell Press, where gallery founder Katie Michel began her career in the print world. Created during the height of the pandemic in 2021, Silence, Dear Friend, and Ancestors commemorate Mildred Beltré and Oasa DuVerney’s Brooklyn Hi-Art Machine project. In 2022, London-based Wuon-Gean Ho expanded her practice by collaborating with students at the University of Utah on her woodblock piece Hide ‘n Seek. That same year, printer and artist Janis Stemmermann worked with Margaret Garrett to produce her Terpsichore’s Garden monoprint series in Brooklyn. Nina Jordan’s self-editioned 14 Homes for 129K woodcuts feature captions printed by Ruth Lingen of Line Press Limited in 2023.

This active publishing program is Planthouse’s defining core, with the print community as its heartbeat. Selected Prints 2014-2024 invites viewers to reflect on an extraordinary decade of printmaking, where the spirit of play and the bonds of collaboration shine through the exhibition.