Printmaking company displays artwork
Tandem Press, a printmaking studio, is holding an art exhibit in the Christel DeHaan Fine Arts Center Gallery from March 26 to May 11. The exhibit is entitled “25 Years of Printmaking.” The opening reception for the exhibit was held on April 2.
A number of students and members of the public visited the gallery during the reception. Mark Ruschman, gallery coordinator at the University of Indianapolis, extended the hours of the opening to 8 p.m. so members of the public would be more likely to come take a look at the artwork.
Timothy Rooney, curator at Tandem Press, has given a lecture in the fine arts center in the past. This time, he was joined by Robert Eagerton, who owns and operates Heartland Printworks. Both men talked about their experiences with fine art printing technology and how they operate Tandem Press.
Tandem Press was founded in 1987. It is a workshop that creates artwork and teaches students how to be printmakers and about the printmaking process. The facility invites artists from all over the United States to come there to create their work.
Sophomore computer information systems major Mariama Kamara attended the event, and said she thought the artwork was intriguing.
“This exhibit was so much different than others ones I’ve been to, and the art was so eye-catching,” she said.
As gallery coordinator, Ruschman saw exhibiting work at UIndy as a wonderful opportunity and was able to curate this exhibition to fill a time slot in the art gallery.
“Given that there is a printmaking department here [at UIndy], we want to be able to expose those students and the rest of the student population to interesting, contemporary fine art,” Ruschman said. “I thought Tandem Press was a good match for that.”
Tandem Press has four master printers on staff, and they assisted other artists to create the works that are on the walls in Christel DeHaan. Tandem Press has three components: master printers who specialize in all types of printmaking, students who come in as part of the educational process and artists who are invited from all over the country to create prints.
Kamara also enjoyed getting to know more about the printmaking company.
“I think it was a good idea to have a reception and share information about the company,” she said. “It helped me to understand the art.”
All of the works in the gallery are original works of art. There even have been additions to the gallery, with new walls built specifically for the Tandem Press exhibition. UIndy plans to keep these additions and use them for exhibits for years to come.
