The Estevan Art Gallery and Museum (EAGM) introduced a number of print media-based art exhibits last week, at a reception featuring three collections of pieces from a professor, a group of artists and an old master of printmaking.
The EAGM introduced the work of Robert Truszkowski, in an exhibit entitled So Much Ice, on Jan. 15. Also introduced was a collection of works entitled Surface Beauty, a series of works by members from the Regina printing studio, Articulate Ink. A number of Jack Cowin print art pieces, provided by the Saskatchewan Arts Board, were also on display at the event, fitting with the printmaking theme of the show.
Truszkowski, a fine arts professor at the University of Regina, has had his printmaking work exhibited internationally and is well known for his style. His work draws on a combination of sources from culture and pop culture, such as religion and rap music, to create art that often seems, at a glance, to be dissonant and chaotic.
The works included in So Much Ice embody a synthesis of subjects and imagery that appear to have nothing to do with one another, which at first glance, often seems surreal and irreverent. The exhibit and the piece after it’s named, So Much Ice, both embody that strange tension, combining the imagery, like primary-coloured patterns, and vintage-flower prints with a printed slang phrase that evokes a rapper’s lifestyle.
Truszkowski said, in a speech to guests at the show, that his creations reflect the sporadic manner by which he expresses himself and his perspectives on to the world, in ways that seem to contradict one another, until more thoroughly examined.
“The way I view the world is in a series of tangential kinds of digressions and pop culture. There’s something about using parables to explain and understand the world as I see it,” said Truszkowski. “The funny thing is my parables come out of rap lyrics and labels of printed material, or other strange, esoteric seemingly unrelated things.”
Truszkowski noted there is a major theme of taking things apart and putting them back together in printmaking, which is a style that is deliberate and historically informed. Printmaking often draws on the kinds of themes of knowledge and communication, from the various sources it uses for inspiration.
“This is not a mistake. I’m interested in pop culture, the history of print, making print media, as a means of conveying information and connecting people,” said Truszkowski. “The invention of movable type by Gutenberg set people on the path to where they are now.”
Truszkowski said his works look irreconcilable at first glance, but the tension they symbolize begs viewers to take an interest and find a connection between things.
“I think about these spaces where we have to go out of routine, and into a space where there’s a disruption,” Truszkowski said. “That’s what keeps me interested.”
Caitlin Mullan with Articulate Ink, spoke to guests about how Truszkowski’s work inspired her and the other founding members to pursue a career that eventually brought them to a point at which they established their own studio. The group started with second-hand printing equipment in a small location in Regina and slowly grew their business.
Since it’s beginnings five years ago, Articulate Ink’s studio has accrued more equipment to do printmaking and has relocated to a larger building. The studio has also switched to a more environmentally friendly printmaking process and has started taking on members and running workshops on the many processes they perform.
Michelle Brownridge, also with Articulate Ink, said people in the community in Regina support the studio with their business, through their printmaking needs. That helps sustain the building, along with the financial support it receives from the Saskatchewan Arts Board.
Jack Cowin’s contributions in Saskatchewan printmaking were acknowledged as a final note during the reception. Cowin was a renowned professor at the U of R, and was credited for bringing printmaking into prominence as an art style in Saskatchewan. Cowin inspired the careers and works of all those whose work was on display that night.
So Much Ice and the collection of Cowins printmaking pieces will be on display at the EAGM until Feb. 26. Articulate Ink’s Surface Beauty will be displayed at the gallery until March 4.
