In this Year of the Protester, Dox Thrash’s watercolor from 1940 depicting striking union workers seems very of-the-moment–although his style immediately dates it as WPA era. Thrash worked on the Federal Art Project from 1936-1939 and during this time invented a printmaking technique known as carborundum mezzotint, which uses a carbon-based abrasive to burnish copper plates. His greatest works depicting the struggles and daily lives of 20th century African-Americans were created using this process.
Alongside Thrash, Dolan/Maxwell Gallery will present the work of Stanley William Hayter, the influential British printmaker who founded Atelier 17, the experimental workshop for the graphic arts. A chemist by training, Hayter was very knowledgeable about the technical aspects of printmaking and wrote two influential books on the subject.
Some of the artists who worked with Hayter at Atelier are: Miro, Milton Avery, Alexander Calder, Louise Bourgeoise, Max Ernst and Jackson. His own prints explore ideas about texture and color and are influenced by abstract Surrealism.
Among the excellent offerings in Dolan Maxwell’s booth, I am also drawn to the scratchy explorations of form and color by printmaker Steven Ford. Ford creates his prints using the linocut process, in which linoleum is used as the printing surface– with chine collé, a technique in printmaking in which the image is transferred to a surface with a heavier support in order to allow the artist to print on a delicate surface or to incorporate a different background color behind the image.
Dolan/Maxwell will be exhibiting in booth 408.
