Harbinger, Susan Jaworski-Stranc, reduction linoleum print, 12" x 12"

On Thursday, April 15, 13FOREST Gallery will open Strata, an exhibition of new and recent work by notable Boston-area printmakers Anne Silber, Ellen Shattuck Pierce, Marc Cote and Susan Jaworski-Stranc.  Strata focuses on the versatility of printmaking, and the means by which ink can be manipulated to create infinite layers of meaning.  Together the show’s four artists employ stencil-based serigraphy, linoleum-block and woodblock printing to produce worlds that can be serene, humorous or meditative.

Early Autumn: Reflection, Anne Silber, serigraph, 17″ x 35¾”

Anne Silber, the lone seriographer, uses stencils to force smooth layers of semi-transparent ink onto paper.  In much the way of a watercolorist, she distills scenes of the natural world into essential color blocks with few lines separating them from one another. Silber’s work is included in the permanent collections of the Brooklyn Museum, the Rose Art Museum and the Worcester Art Museum; and it has appeared in movies such as Charlie Wilson’s War, First Wives Club and The Departed.

Susan Jaworski-Stranc is one of two artists in Stratawho employ linoleum blocks in the printmaking process. Carving multiple plates out of linoleum, then inking and pressing them to paper, Stranc creates representational scenes and symbolic compositions, such as silhouettes denoting winter’s approach. Her color sensibilities might appear similar to Silber’s but closer inspection reveals the chance print marks of linoleum. Stranc’s books and prints have been exhibited at the Danforth Museum, the DeCordova Museum and the New Britain Museum of American Art; and they are part of the permanent collections of Boston’s Museum of Fine Arts and the University of California.

The work of Ellen Shattuck Pierce, also a linoleum-block printer, uses intricate black-ink lines that define compositional elements and clearly separate blocks of color. Of late Pierce has been using this technique to depict domestic scenes that clash with contemporary ideals of domestic bliss. Her frequently stressed-out themes suggest states to which any mindful but overworked parent could relate, such as a family meal that devolves into a dinner-plate battle scene atop fine table linens. A native Vermonter, Pierce now lives in Boston and her work has been exhibited in museums and galleries across Canada, Massachusetts, New York, Arkansas and Wisconsin.

Darn Ocelots Stole Conrad, Marc Cote, woodcut, 32″ x 25″