Woman Made Gallery is excited to welcome Uncommon Prints x Common Matrices juried by Cathie Ruggie Saunders. Uncommon Prints x Common Matrices is a group exhibition featuring the artwork of 28 women and non-binary artists exploring the concept and techniques of a transfer in unexpected ways and across mediums.

As a traditional printmaking convention, a matrix is a master surface from which to make an impression. Typical matrices are wood, Bavarian limestone or aluminum plates, copper or zinc, and a silkscreen frame and stencils.This exhibition opens up the traditional practice to highlight the common methods of “transferring a mark.” From fingers, handprints, using earth pigments and plant berries, Uncommon Prints x Common Matrices underlines the artistic encounter by women with the everyday and reveals lasting impressions.

In her jurors’ statement, Cathie Ruggie Saunders writes: “To be invited to conceive of an innovative premise for an exhibition, and jury the submissions sent in from as far away as New Zealand and Australia is a rare opportunity, and one for which I am most grateful. The women and non-binary artists that contributed their printmaking vision definitely demonstrate that creativity abounds.

Women’s traditional domestic pursuits such as stitching, dyeing, and quilting are gathered into this exhibit in a mark-making manner that explores the relief surface as a sculptural matrix. Moments of simple observation (of eggshells, rust, rain, flour, coffee, make-up) often dismissed are elevated to visceral and elegant impressions defying the traditional canon. And though these uncommon times that we are living in might have broken the resilience of many, these artists flex their voices to recognize and seize the opportunities to expand printmaking boundaries.
There is no fear in using oneself as a matrix, whether it be one’s face with cosmetics, or one’s torso with graphite. Identity as revealed in one’s visage or the fecund powers of the female body, are put forth in a vulnerable yet strident manner, witnesses to the belief that we each have something unique to say and share. With touch (pressure) being a critical component of printmaking, the selected prints in this exhibit indeed come from a deep point of contact, one that both touches the artist and the viewer.”

Exhibiting Artists: Natalie Boyett, Mia Brown-Seguin, Savannah Bustillo, Teresa Castaneda, Martha Chiplis, Hellen Colman, Kathleen Greco, Kayla Haugen, Clarissa Jakobsons, Regina Durante Jestrow, Millicent Kennedy, Shama Kipfer-Tessler, Hava Liebowitz, Hannah Jo Malaczynski, barb mcdonald, Lacey Minor, BettyAnn Mocek, Lisa Nelson Raabe, Nirmal S Raja, bonnie ralston, Gina Lee Robbins, Ciel Rodriguez, sue scanlon, Jacqueline Valdez, Anahi Velazquez Torres, Carla Winterbottom, Chandra Wu, and Chunbo Zhang

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Tags: Anahi Velazquez Torres, barb mcdonald, BettyAnn Mocek, bonnie ralston, Carla Winterbottom, Cathie Ruggie-Saunders, Chandra Wu, Chicago, Chunbo Zhang, Ciel Rodriguez, Clarissa Jakobsons, Gina Lee Robbins, Hannah Jo Malaczynski, Hava Liebowitz, Hellen Colman, Jacqueline Valdez, Kathleen Greco, Kayla Haugen, Lacey Minor, Lisa Nelson Raabe, Lower West Side, Martha Chiplis, Mia Brown-Seguin, millicent kennedy, Natalie Boyett, Nirmal S Raja, Regina Durante Jestrow, Savannah Bustillo, Shama Kipfer-Tessler, Sue Scanlon, Teresa Castaneda, Uncommon Prints x Common Matrices, Woman Made Gallery