Intaglio is a true labor of love. It is an art form that is antiquated yet irreplaceable. Below the Surface features work by 23 artists unified by their use of intaglio printing techniques including etching and engraving.

Intaglio is a printmaking technique where the image is incised into a surface, typically a copper or zinc plate, and the recessed area holds the ink. Once the drawing is complete, the plate is submersed into an acid tank. In the acid, the exposed drawing is bitten away, while the rest of the plate remains protected by the acid-resistant coating. The print is transferred onto paper through the application of pressure, when the plate is run through a press. Since the plate eventually wears, print editions are unique and limited. Many modern printmakers have converted to less toxic etching methods that don’t produce corrosive gases, as acids do.

“In a world of modern technology, I am drawn to intaglio printmaking because of the directly tactile relationship it requires to both physical materials and the developing image. The intaglio plate develops gradually as each mark builds upon the previous, creating a physical record of past action across the metal surface in what often becomes truly a labor of love,” says printmaker, Carrie Lingscheit.

Lingscheit is a Chicago-based artist that uses intaglio methods to explore themes of human behavior, interaction and the malleable nature of remembrance.

Her process is a combination of careful composition and free experimentation, in which her plate parallels the vacillating, simultaneously creative and erosive qualities of memory formation that are a reoccurring theme in her work.

Below the Surface also includes the work of Morteza Khakshoor. Khakshoor is a Columbus-based artist who currently works mainly in the medium of printmaking. He moved to the United States from Northern Iran in 2010 to continue his education in fine art. To Khakshoor, an intaglio plate is a sculptural drawing.

“In intaglio, the image is not flat; as a result of the process, it’s a three-dimensional thing—it has volume. The digital print has no depth, no life, no energy. The print looks different and feels different,” he says. “I feel like I might be creating life by printing my works by hand from start to finish.”

Khakshoor enjoys his battle with the intaglio plate. To him, it’s a love-hate relationship, not as much about the final image as it is engaging in the process. He enjoys the detachment of the back and forth process of interacting with the plate. He believes that this detachment gives him time to think about what the piece is truly about. Although it’s his creation; the piece often feels foreign to him.

“When you pull a print for the first time and when you look at the first proof you become the viewer, even though you made the thing,” says Khakshoor. “You see the image when you make a mark in painting, drawing or sculpture; you’re always the maker and never the viewer. The first time you print however, you become the first viewer. It has an interesting element of surprise.”

Michael Goro is a Russian-born, Chicago-based printmaker and painter whose practice is a continuous creative search for raw authenticity in urban environments and human forms that are constantly changing. To him, seeing the first proof is a revelatory moment, comparable to developing film. Similar to Lingscheit and Khakshoor, he enjoys the process of creating a plate; he finds that mistakes can change its direction, often in a more interesting way.

“I appreciate intaglio’s historic significance. The way I use it in a contemporary incarnation is that I’m drawn to high contrast and the depth of a black you can get from intaglio. I don’t think there’s any other art form that compares. My friend once said, ‘The black is so black that you can almost see the god in it,’” he says. “I’m not against technology or innovation. After 20 or so years, I do what gets the best image.”

Below the Surface features art by Keegan Adams, Joey Behrens, Christi Birchfield, Donald Black Jr., Jazmine Catasus, Yuchen Chang, Liz Chalfin, Yuchen Chang, Jen Craun, Madeline Daversa, Nancy Diessner, Aurora De Armendi, Nancy Diessner, Michael Goro, Karla Hackenmiller, Yuji Hiratsuka, Carolyn Hulbert, Maria Kaiser, Morteza Khakshoor, Louise Kohrman, Andrew Kosten, Carrie Lingscheit, Michaelle Marschall, Ali Norman, Dominique Saks, Lisa Schonberg, Barbara Stanford, Anna Wagner, Rebekah Wilhelm, Kochi Yamamoto. The exhibition is on view August 4 through September 15.

 

 

Art Books Cleveland presents Play: Books as Toys and Toys as Books

Play asks you to step away from your cellphones and televisions and tune into your childish spirit to imagine, create, build, move and interact with books as toys and toys as books. This exhibition is a collaboration with Art Books Cleveland designed to challenge and re-imagine the concept of books.

This exhibition is part of the Morgan’s participation in this year’s Octavofest, Northeast Ohio’s celebration of book and paper arts. This exhibition is offered in conjunction with a wide array of book and paper arts activities throughout the region during October and beyond. Exhibits, workshops, and demonstrations are being added regularly to the schedule, which can be seen at www.octavofest.com. Play opens on October 20 and runs through November 18.

BELOW THE SURFACE: INTAGLIO EXHIBITION | AUGUST 4 – SEPTEMBER 15

Group show featuring intaglio printmaking techniques by 23 artists

A DIAMOND IN HOUGH: GALA AND SILENT AUCTION | 5:30 – 10PM OCTOBER 7

10th Annual Benefit featuring an art auction with work by: 10 papermakers,10 book artists,10 printmakers, 10 artists-in-residence, 10 artists, 10 interns,10 workshop instructors,10 works by Founder & Creative Director, Tom Balbo.

ART BOOKS CLEVELAND PRESENTS PLAY: BOOKS AS TOYS AND TOYS AS BOOKS | OCTOBER 20 – NOVEMBER 18

MELISSA JAY CRAIG & AMY RICHARD | OCTOBER 20 – NOVEMBER 18

HOLIDAY BAZAAR | 6 – 9PM DECEMBER 1 & 10AM – 4PM DECEMBER 2

Featuring art and handmade items

 

Workshops:

CROSS STRUCTURE BINDINGS | 10AM – 4PM SEPTEMBER 9

THINKING OUTSIDE THE VAT: DECKLE BOX PAPERMAKING | 10AM – 4PM SEPTEMBER 9 – 10

MINIATURE BOOKBINDING | 10AM – 4PM SEPTEMBER 10

The Morgan Art of Papermaking Conservatory & Educational Foundation

1754 East 47^th Street

Cleveland, Ohio 44103

216.361.9255