THE STUDIO PROJECTS:

Brad Davis completed 13 editions at our studio before leaving to work in China and Hong Kong. While his artistic roots are part of the pattern/decorative aesthetic, his new work is influenced by the Chinese painters of the 20th century. The prints are related to these recent landscape themes. His “Rock” and “Rock and Bamboo” diptychs and his landscape series are printed on Lenox, Japanese, and handmade papers. His sensitive use of these papers and the acrylic medium further allowed him to explore his present interest in the spirit of nature. Mr. Davis is represented in many public and private collections. Museum collections include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Walker Art Center, the Saarland Museum, Germany; and the Groninger Museum - the Netherlands.

Frank Faulkner created a series of 6 editions during his stay at the workshop. His prints are composed of natural and cosmic forms wrought with mystery and created by a marriage of printing, painting, and drawing. “Palm I” and “Palm II’are patterned elegant iconic landscapes defined by rich gold hand colored forms. In “Sea Cave” layers of luminous colors create a mysterious landscape further embellished with hand colored marks. “Still Life” and “Mirage” reach beyond to a celestial landscape and into the vastness of cyperspace. The “Arabic Felix”series is a variable edition – each a unique work. They are enigmatic riddles hidden beneath layers of media by a cryptic exterior of painting and drawing. Mr. Faulkner’s works are in many public and private collections, including the Hirshhorn Museum, the Albright Knox Gallery, Chase Manhattan Bank, the Orlando International Airport, and the Sammlung Ludwig Galerie in Aachen, Germany.

Sam Gilliam has created an exceptional group of prints while visiting our workshop. Each of his 12 variable editions have common relationships of shape, color, and texture – yet each is a unique work. All are abstract bleed images energized by vibrant colors. The “Bay to Bay” prints share stitched and collaged forms. The “Stack” series has collaged handmade papers. All editions except “Tampa Electric” are cut and reassembled. Collaged shapes and forms overlap as they are stitched and glued together to create a tension between surface and space. The build up of papers and inks gives an object quality and dramatic presence to the works. They are about printing pushed to the edge. Mr. Gilliam’s works are in numerous major collections. Selected museums include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Corcoran Gallery of Art, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Tate Gallery in London, England; and the Musee d’Art Moderne de le Ville de Paris - in Paris, France.

Roberto Juarez completed 5 editions at the workshop before going to Italy. He received the
Prix de Rome award and spent the following year at the American Academy in Rome. His
mixed media prints are in variable editions except for “Alley Violets”, which is a more traditional work on Okawara Japanese paper. “Tampa Alley” and “Calamus I, II, and III” are flocked and painted prints laminated with liquid urethane. Studio time was a process of discovery about possible ways to use the medium to explore and transform the work. His plant and floral images were printed on lenox paper, and peat moss was flocked on this lower surface. Inks and permanent dyes were allowed to bleed through the layers of Japanese papers. Liquid urethane was then layered onto the prints and manipulated by the artist to show tracks and marks as evidence of his path of transformation. Mr. Juarez’s works are in numerous public and private collections including the Brooklyn Museum, the Metropolitan Museum, the St. Lious Museum of Art, and the Rutger’s University Museum. His murals may be seen at the Miami International Airport. He is presently working on murals for Grand Central Station in New York City.

Miriam Schapiro completed three screenprint editions during her several visits to our studio. “In the Heat of Winter”, her largest fan in print, is a dynamic design in vibrant colors and collaged with hand cut printed flowers. The fabric, chosen for its transparency and design, is overlaid on alternative struts transforming the printed colors into a rich tapestry.  “Alexandra and Me” is in keeping with her tradition of honoring women of the past. The dancer’s gown is enhanced with fabric, which gives added dimension and texture to the print. The delicate and poetic “Una Furtiva Lacrima” is a grid of twelve individual prints created from the artist’s collection of handkerchiefs. Mrs. Schapiro was one of the leaders of the pattern and decoration movement, and of the feminist art movement of the 70’s. She is a recipient of four honorary doctoral degrees, a Guggenheim Fellowship, and a Rockefeller Foundation Grant. Her work is in numerous private and public collections. Museum collections include the National Gallery of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Whitney Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Ludwig Museum of Aachen, Germany; and the Australian National Musuem in Canberra.

George Sugarman created a series of 10 editions while working at our studio. Always open to new ideas and creative possibilities, he soon found ways to push the screenprint process into new directions by approaching his prints as a sculptor. He expanded his works horizontally and vertically, and then explored folded and relief forms to combine with his prints. “Storm over Tampa State 2” was inspired by the ominous movement of storm clouds over Tampa Bay.Dark threatening clouds move across five sheets of paper creating a compelling visual statement of movement, fear, and power. “Flat over Fold” consists of two prints mounted vertically – a flat print over a folded relief image. The relief was folded and then printed. It emerges as a dramatic abstract form in motion. “Double Dance’ is comprised of two powerful hand cut expressive shapes, and “The Box” is a sculptural constructed print folded, mounted, and hand painted. “Vanishing Landscape”, a diptych on Japanese paper, is folded and pleated to create it’s own receding form as it vanishes into the horizon. Mr. Sugarman’s sculptures are in numerous national and international collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum, the Whitney Museum, and the Basel Art Museum in Switzerland. Many site-specific commissions are located throughout the United States, including New York, Pennsylvania, California, Texas, and Florida. Major International commissions include projects in Jakarta, Indonesia; Kyusu, Japan; Chiba, Japan; and the Crystal Tower in Kobe, Japan

Robert Rahway Zakanitch created a series of complex and exciting monoprints at the workshop, using the fishing lure as his inspiration. In the “Sportsman Series”, “Vase 2 White Hook”, “Haviland Black Plate I”, and “Sandmouth I” subtle textures and images emerge through the veils of printed colors. A metamorphosis occurs as common fishing lures become colorful vibrating winged forms trapped within the rectangular paper or in the shapes of vases and plates. This common sporting object is transformed into a symbol of ominous beauty. Hand painted additions by the artist allow us to experience his brash use of rich luscious color. The “Tampa Yellow Series” is more reminiscent of earlier wallpaper inspired paintings. Here Zakanitch calls upon his innate color sense to produce elegant pattern and design variations interspersed with hand painted roses.

Robert Rahway Zakanitch was a prime mover in the emergence of the pattern and decoration movement that challenged reductive painting in the 70’s. He continues to create sensous and complexly beautiful works of art. He is represented by in many public and private collections, which include the Whitney Museum, the Hirshhorn Museum, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Ludwig Collection of Aachen, Germany; the Rothschild Bank of Zurich, Switzerland; and the Mus’ee de Strasbourg in France.