Wood Engravers’ Network Relief Engraving

Wood Engravers’ Network Relief Engraving
November 16 – January 6, 2013

Wood Engravers’ Network Relief Engraving Exhibition 2012 is the first juried exhibition sponsored by the Wood Engravers’ Network. The traveling exhibit features 60 prints and 3 artist books by 33 relief engraving artists from the United States, Canada, Russia and the United Kingdom.

Generally, wood engraving is a small-format medium employing imagery that is monochromatic and more traditional in approach. These generalizations have exceptions and contemporary exhibitions are evidence that fresh eyes are challenging these conventions. There is a new generation emerging with fresh enthusiasm and courage. – James Horton, WEN Organizer

WEN’s membership, spanning North America, Europe and Asia, shows the continuing vitality of the media and the unrelenting inventiveness of artists working in wood engraving. – Tim Peterson, exhibit juror, Director and Curator of Franklin Art Works

Exhibiting artists include:

Grigory Babich (Russia)
Shirley Bernstein (US)
John Cameron (US)
Evan Charney (US)
Andy English (UK)
Paul Gentry (US)
Allan Greenier (US)
Theresa Haberkorn (US)
John Haney (Canada)
Eric Hoffman(US)
Mirka Hokkanen (Finland)

James Horton (US)
Carol Inderieden (MN)
Rosemary Kilbourn (Canada)
Cindy Koopman (US)
Vladimir Kortovich (Russia)
Channing Lefebvre (US)
Michael McGarvey (US)
John McWilliams (US)
Carl Montford (US)
Jameson Moore (US)
Earl R. Nitschke (US)

Sylvia Pixley (US)
Scott Ponemone (US)
Michelle Post (US)
Joanne Price (US)
Abigail Rorer (US)
Anders Sandstrom (US)
Richard Wagener (US)
Jim Westergard (Canada)
Donna Westerman (US)
Deborah Wood (Canada)
Sue Woollatt (UK)

The juror, Tim Peterson, is the Director and Curator of Franklin Art Works, a nationally acclaimed alternative space located in Minneapolis where he has organized over 130 solo exhibitions for artists such as Zak Smith, Kehinde Wiley, Ghada Amer, Nicola López, Wangechi Mutu and Jacob Kassay. Prior to founding Franklin Art Works, Peterson held curatorial positions at the Lannan Foundation (Los Angeles) and the Williams College Museum of Art (Williamstown, Massachusetts). At Williams, Peterson organized the exhibition and publication, British Book Illustration: 1924-1936 for Williams’ Chapin Library, featuring many works in wood engraving.

The Wood Engravers’ Network (WEN), started in 1994, boasts over 200 members from the US, Canada, Europe and Asia. This group of printmakers, with a specific interested in wood engraving, created a forum to facilitate communication, encouragement, and education in this historic, yet contemporary relief medium. The organization provides a lending library, a tools and materials resource catalogue, a tool sharpening service and yearly workshops. WEN’s Block & Burin, a biannually published newsletter, features articles, events, news and announcements. One of the signature networking aspects of the group is a voluntary exchange of prints and related materials, dubbed a “Bundle Exchange” that is mailed with each newsletter.