Speaking Out at Zygote Press

Peter Bankov, who has created more than 200 award-winning posters in Russia, Europe, China and the United States, will be a Zygote artist-in-residence during the months of July and August.

Text-based artwork will be richly represented in The Expanded Broadside: Printed Messages in Art, curated by Lisa Kurzner, on view in the gallery at Zygote Press from July 13 to August 25. While printmaking has often been a favored medium for those drawn to text, the artists selected work in a variety of media. Additionally, the Cleveland Public Library will lend archival broadsides created in the 1940s and 50s.

Cleveland Communist Party Broadside, courtesy of the Cleveland Public Library Special Collections

Historically, “broadside” references an oversized sheet of paper printed on one side, announcing events or proclaiming a point of view. It also has come to mean a fierce verbal statement. Kurzner will play with, and expand upon, both these meanings.

Exhibiting artists who utilize text in a pictorial way include Karl Anderson, a Cleveland Institute of Art graduate, focusing on irregularities in the structures of communication; and Elizabeth Emery, a FRONT International artist-in-residence, whose collaboration with Corrie Slawson will speak to women in politics. Pittsburgh-based Lenka Clayton makes typewriter drawings whose poetic layout and messages underscore the idiosyncrasies of that mechanical process.

Some artists’ work is more declarative: Shannon Ebner of Los Angeles breaks language apart to concentrate on its formal qualities; Michael Mandiberg of Brooklyn, New York, remixes forms of information; and Nina Katchadourian, also of Brooklyn, employs found text to create new meaning. Columbus-based Laura Bidwa’s evocative paintings are layered with letterpress poems by Donn Vickers.

Some artists disrupt the entire idea of letters, words, sentences and meaning. Sarah Kabot, renowned Cleveland installation artist, didacts all language from objects that clearly are word-based; and Jordan Tate of Cincinnati utilizes photography and appropriated images to open up the idea of meaning—something that most of us rely on words to impart.

Zygote Press will also be producing a portfolio of prints for FRONT International. Like the 1973 “City Canvases” beautification that brought a dozen large murals downtown, the current project, “Canvas City,” will enliven blank walls in the city. As with the original project, a portfolio of limited-edition screenprints will be created that document the murals. These will be shown in the historic downtown Arcade, along with the original series of prints.

Finally, Zygote will be hosting two international artists-in-residence this summer, as well as bringing a non-print artist into our collaborative printmaking environment. See the timeframes of their visits below and check our website for opportunities to connect with them. This project is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts.

 

THE EXPANDED BROADSIDE, CURATED BY LISA KURZNER | JULY 13–AUGUST 25

RECEPTION 6–8PM THURSDAY, JULY 19

ARTISTS-IN-RESIDENCE:

PETER BANKOV (RUSSIA) | JULY-AUGUST

DAVID ARMES (ENGLAND) | AUGUST-SEPTEMBER

GIANNA COMMITTO (USA) | THROUGH OCTOBER

 

 

Zygote Press

1410 East 30th Street

Cleveland, Ohio 44114

zygotepress.com