Explore the arcane world of fine art printmaking
San Francisco - On November 1-3, 2013, one of San Francisco’s oldest and least-known artistic organizations, the Graphic Arts Workshop, will open its doors for a show and sale of hand-pulled fine art prints as part of ArtSpan’s San Francisco Open Studios.
The Graphic Arts Workshop (GAW) has been a hotbed of fine art printmaking in San Francisco since 1954, when it began as part of the Art Department of the California Labor School. The school was closed in 1957 due to political persecution during the McCarthy era, but the workshop survived as an independent entity. Many well known Bay Area artists have belonged to GAW over the past decades. Today, GAW is a working artists’ cooperative, with members sharing expenses and the work of maintaining a large studio.
In contrast to today’s world of technology, many of the techniques used at GAW are centuries-old, although most have modern (and less toxic) refinements. They include etching, woodcut, linocut, letterpress, monotype and monoprint, lithograph, screenprint, and endless combinations and variations. Each artist works in his or her own style, but all produce original fine art prints, not reproductions.
A wide variety of prints of many types and price-points will be on display and available for purchase. Several of the current artists are participating in this event, and will be on hand to explain their processes and inspirations: Lise Currie, Eddie Lee, Cynthia Milionis, Gail Morrison, Andrey Semyonov and Barbara Stikker.
The Graphic Arts Workshop is located at 2565 Third Street (on the Muni T line), #305, in San Francisco’s up-and-coming Dogpatch neighborhood. On Friday, November 1, 2013, there will be an opening reception from 6 to 9 p.m. The Workshop will also be open Saturday and Sunday, November 2 and 3, 2013, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. 415-285-5660. Maps will be available of other artists hosting open studios in the neighborhood.
The event is free, and all are welcome to come explore the arcane world of fine art printmaking.
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