Without Margins

A SOUTHERN GRAPHICS PRINT COUNCIL INTERNATIONAL THEMED PORTFOLIO EXHIBITION

Join the Martin Museum of Art for our Behind the Art Series on Thursday, February 20th, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm for an Artist Talk with Endi Poskovic. 

What: Behind the Art | An Artist Talk with Endi Poskovic
Where: Martin Museum of Art
When: Thursday, February 20th, 5:30 pm - 7:00 pm
 

ABOUT THE EXHIBITION:

‘Without Margins’ is a themed portfolio which was organized by Associate Professors Humberto Saenz (UTSA) and Kyle Chaput (Baylor). Themed Portfolios are conference-theme inspired print exhibitions organized and curated by and for SGCI members, and are based on the conference’s theme. Usually around 20 different Themed Portfolios are displayed during the conference. Participants receive a portfolio with a full set of prints. One copy of the portfolio is donated to the conference’s host institution/s and one copy is donated to the SGC International Archive at the Zuckerman Museum of Art at Kennesaw State University.

A "themed portfolio" in printmaking is a collection of prints by one or multiple artists that are all related to a central theme, meaning each print within the portfolio explores or visually represents the same concept, idea, or subject matter, creating a cohesive narrative when viewed together. The most important aspect is that all prints in the portfolio are connected by a shared theme, allowing viewers to understand the artist's focus and intention when viewing the collection as a whole. While the theme is consistent, individual prints within a themed portfolio can utilize different printmaking techniques and artistic styles to explore different facets of the theme. Sometimes, themed portfolios can even be created collaboratively by multiple artists, each contributing a print that relates to the overarching theme, sometimes organized by a curator or exhibition. 

Saenz and Chaput developed an abstract (written statement) which describes a fairly broad concept they hoped invited artists would create work about. The abstract reads…

“Our studio practices are the manifestations of interrogating past and contemporary issues and their intersection with identity, power, and politics. Printmaking is the vehicle for inquiry, analysis, and a catalyst for action. Participants will examine current issues that affect culture and investigate political and societal concerns, both of which can be viewed as being at physical and metaphorical crossroads. Invited artists will portray personal and/or universal perspectives on urgent concerns which include corruption, immigration, economic disparities, and inequality which have percolated to the forefront. 

As artists we engage in this dialogue by creating art which challenges and invites discourse within the current political climate. The portfolio will include the responses of fifteen artists to political contemporaneous concerns in a variety of traditional, hand-pulled processes and new print media, including digital as limited-editioned prints. Contributors will produce bleed prints by incorporating personal iconography to challenge current policies and break boundaries. 

‘Art, today, has the task of answering to this world or of answering for it.’
 —Jean-Luc Nancy

There were also a few technical parameters which were set forth by the organizers. The artists may use both traditional (lithography, serigraphy/screenprinting, relief, intaglio) and new printmaking media, including digital for limited-editioned prints. The prints must be bleed prints, sized 15”x20”, with an edition of 18. Bleed prints are prints where the image extends beyond one or more edges of the paper. Therefore, there are no margins or borders. 

About the Southern Graphics Council International.
 

Exhibition on view January 14 – March 9, 2025

Artists shown above: Miguel Aragón, Operation Lone Star or how to pose a life-threatening risk to people & wildlife; J. Leigh Garcia, Operation Lonestar; Estrada Hernandez Juana, Birdwatching en el Rio Grande de Texas.

PARTICIPATING ARTISTS:

• Althea Murphy-Price, Professor of Art, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
• Aaron Coleman, Kenneth E. Tyler Chair, Associate Professor, Indiana University
• Juana Estrada Hernandez, Assistant Professor, Rhode Island School of Design
• Dusty Herbig, Associate Professor, Director of Lake Effect Editions, Syracuse University
• Emmy Lingscheit, Associate Professor, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
• Eddy Lopez, Associate Professor, Affiliated Faculty-Latin American Studies, Bucknell University
• J Leigh Garcia, Associate Professor, University of Tennessee at Knoxville
• Endi Poskovic, Professor of Art, University of Michigan
• Hannah Sanders, Associate Professor, Southeast Missouri State University
• Blake Sanders, Instructor of Art, Catapult Press Coordinator, Southeast Missouri State University
• Ericka Walker, Associate Professor, Nova Scotia College of Art and Design
• Miguel Aragón, Associate Professor, College of Staten Island, The City University of New York
• Edie Overturf, Professor of Art, Mount Hood Community College
• Miriam Rudolph, BFA, BA, MFA, Professional Artist (Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada)
• Matthew Hopson Walker, Assistant Professor, Fresno State University
• Humberto Saenz, Associate Professor, University of Texas at San Antonio
• Kyle Chaput, Associate Professor, Baylor University