Opening Reception - Shark's Ink Prints - Foundry Vineyard

FOUNDRY VINEYARDS
PRINTS FROM SHARK'S INK
YOUR INVITED TO THE OPENING RECEPTION
FRIDAY SEPTEMBER 5TH FROM 5-8PM
Foundry Vineyards, in conjunction with Shark's Ink, is pleased to exhibit this collection of fine art prints. With a working history that spans over three decades, Master Printer Bud Shark has collaborated with dozens of contemporary artists to create high quality prints using both traditional and cutting edge print techniques. The artists featured in the exhibition include Laurie Anderson, John Buck, Tom Burckhardt, Enrique Chagoya, Don Ed Hardy, Yvonne Jacquette, Kara Maria, Matthew Palladino, Peter Saul, and William T. Wiley.

One of the prevalent themes of the exhibition is the theory of American Exceptionalism. American Eagle/The Great Divide by John Buck is a clear example of a critique on the topic. Buck's depiction of a bald eagle, one of the most recognizable symbols of American patriotism, appears standing nobly in front of a backdrop of dark blue sky. As the viewer looks into the detailed background, one can see scenes of deforestation, crowded cars on a highway, smoke from a nuclear power plant, and dead fish floating in the water at the base of a large dam. Buck's print illustrates a disconnect between the idea of patriotism and the actions taken to secure our way of life.

Coming from an aerial perspective, Matthew Palladino's Bad Map uses graffiti like gestures that uncover rather than conceal an image of the United States. Where Canada and Mexico would lie on the map there is only water, revealing the United Stated to be an island. In another playful cross between realism and abstraction, Kara Maria's No Heroes looks from a distance like a scrawling abstraction of intense colors and vibrant camouflage patterning. Closer observation reveals eagles and jet fighters flying through the abstract swirls of color. Maria has described the print as "blending beauty and toxicity" and "cheerfully apocalyptic."

The 15 works in the exhibition encompass a broad range of themes, such as urbanization, cultural identities, and the circle of life and death. Many of the playful and colorful visual aspects of these works appear in stark contrast to the serious topics they depict. There is a particular level of realism and abstraction, which undulates through the layout of the exhibition. Many of the prints have a folk art feel or even cartoon-like quality as a result of the artist's personal style, color choices, print method or use of pictorial space. The final selection of the work was based on these layered connections of theme and artistic approach.