Joslyn Presents Show on Postwar Prints

Tracing major currents in the art world, as well as developments specific to printmaking, an upcoming exhibition at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha addresses how the print rose to prominence in postwar American art. Under Pressure: Contemporary Prints from the Collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and His Family Foundation, includes work by thirty-nine artists spanning the last five decades. Until the 1940s, most American artists viewed prints as an inferior medium, practiced by those who were concerned solely with the technical aspect of making art rather than with the importance of creative expression. Yet over the next two decades, bolstered by the adventurous spirit of experimentation championed by artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Helen Frankenthaler, printmaking became one of the most dynamic fields in contemporary art. The earliest works featured in the Under Pressure exhibition at Joslyn are mid-1960s prints by Omaha-born Edward Ruscha (pronounced rue-Shay); the latest, a 2009 print by Hung Liu. The youngest artist is Radcliffe Bailey, a 44-year-old, Atlanta-based printmaker, and eleven of the 39 featured artists are women. All but five of the artists in the exhibition are still living and working. The exhibition at Joslyn opens on October 6 and continues through January 6.