Propagating Eden

fern

March 6 – April 19, 2008
Reception: Thursday, March 6, 6-8pm

International Print Center New York announces the presentation of Propagating Eden: Uses and Techniques of Nature Printing in Botany and Art, opening on Thursday, March 6th and remaining on view through Saturday, April 19th in IPCNY’s gallery at 526 West 26th Street, Room 824. A reception for artists and lenders will be held on Thursday, March 6th from 6-8pm.

Propagating Eden will present wide-ranging examples of historical and contemporary work in which botanists, printers and artists have incorporated nature printing techniques to serve their particular purposes. Nature printing is defined as the technique of making impressions either directly or indirectly from natural objects.

Dating from the mid 18th century to the present, the works in Propagating Eden include important scientific botanical treatises illustrated with nature-printed specimens, as well as works by 20th-century and contemporary artists who have mined the potential of natural forms, incorporating them into their work for expressive purposes. In this context, works by contemporary artists demonstrate the evolution of nature printing in tandem with advances in print technologies.

Pari Stave, art historian and former director of AXA Gallery, and Matthew Zucker, a rare book collector based in New York City, are co-curators of the Exhibition. In the words of Ms. Stave, “the exhibition illustrates nature printing in botanical texts, which, though they were produced for scientific study are nonetheless visually intriguing. By the same token, the works by artists, although produced for self-expression, are intriguing for their botanical specificity.”

Propagating Eden will include thirty works, among them some extraordinary examples of 18th and 19th-century nature prints, including a full sheet of nature printed American currency from 1779, and Peter Orlando Hutchinson’s The Ferns of Sidmouth, a 19th-century example of nature printed ferns. It will also include a number of 20th-century and contemporary examples, among them a recent relief print from what is described as “plant material—banyon tree aerial roots” by Michele Oka Doner, Ed Ruscha’s Mixografia® print Clock from 1994, and Stan Brakhage’s 1963 four-minute film Mothlight, produced without a camera by pasting moths and flowers onto a strip of film.

An illustrated brochure with a curatorial essay will accompany the exhibition.

Major support for Propagating Eden has been provided by The Burpee Foundation. This season’s exhibitions are made possible with the generous support of The Robert Lehman Foundation.

International Print Center New York is a non-profit institution founded to promote the greater appreciation and understanding of the fine art print worldwide. Through innovative programming, IPCNY fosters a climate for the enjoyment, examination and serious study of artists’ print—from the old master to the contemporary. IPCNY offers its members a program of workshop and gallery visits, and has established an informational website and Information Desk available to the public at the gallery. IPCNY depends upon public and private donations to support its programs.

IPCNY’s programs are supported with grants from The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, The Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Hess Foundation, and The Porter Family Charitable Foundation.

The gallery is located in Chelsea between 10th and 11th Avenues. Hours are 11-6, Tuesday through Saturday.

For additional information, please call (212) 989-5090 or visit IPCNY’s website at www.ipcny.org. For images, contact Kendra Sullivan.

Image: Polypodium Phegopterus, Plate IV from Thomas Moore, and John Lindley, The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland..., Nature Printed by Henry Bradbury, printed and published by Bradbury & Evans, London 1855 [-1856]. Hand-colored intaglio print from an electrotyped soft lead plate, 21-3/8 in. x 14-3/8 inches

INTERNATIONAL PRINT CENTER NEW YORK
Currently on View	IPCNY Exhibition History	New Prints Program	IPCNY Exhibitions
Propagating Eden *Uses and Techniques of Nature Printing in Botany and Art* Co-curated by Pari Stave and Matthew Zucker March 6 – April 19, 2008 Reception: Thursday, March 6, 6-8pm International Print Center New York announces the presentation of *Propagating Eden: Uses and Techniques of Nature Printing in Botany and Art, opening on Thursday, March 6th and remaining on view through Saturday, April 19th in IPCNY’s gallery at 526 West 26th Street, Room 824. A reception for artists and lenders will be held on Thursday, March 6th from 6-8pm. Propagating Eden* will present wide-ranging examples of historical and contemporary work in which botanists, printers and artists have incorporated nature printing techniques to serve their particular purposes. Nature printing is defined as the technique of making impressions either directly or indirectly from natural objects. Dating from the mid 18th century to the present, the works in *Propagating Eden* include important scientific botanical treatises illustrated with nature-printed specimens, as well as works by 20th-century and contemporary artists who have mined the potential of natural forms, incorporating them into their work for expressive purposes. In this context, works by contemporary artists demonstrate the evolution of nature printing in tandem with advances in print technologies. Pari Stave, art historian and former director of AXA Gallery, and Matthew Zucker, a rare book collector based in New York City, are co-curators of the Exhibition. In the words of Ms. Stave, “the exhibition illustrates nature printing in botanical texts, which, though they were produced for scientific study are nonetheless visually intriguing. By the same token, the works by artists, although produced for self-expression, are intriguing for their botanical specificity.” *Propagating Eden* will include thirty works, among them some extraordinary examples of 18th and 19th-century nature prints, including a full sheet of nature printed American currency from 1779, and Peter Orlando Hutchinson’s The Ferns of Sidmouth, a 19th-century example of nature printed ferns. It will also include a number of 20th-century and contemporary examples, among them a recent relief print from what is described as “plant material—banyon tree aerial roots” by Michele Oka Doner, Ed Ruscha’s Mixografia® print Clock from 1994, and Stan Brakhage’s 1963 four-minute film Mothlight, produced without a camera by pasting moths and flowers onto a strip of film. An illustrated brochure with a curatorial essay will accompany the exhibition. Major support for *Propagating Eden* has been provided by The Burpee Foundation. This season’s exhibitions are made possible with the generous support of The Robert Lehman Foundation. International Print Center New York is a non-profit institution founded to promote the greater appreciation and understanding of the fine art print worldwide. Through innovative programming, IPCNY fosters a climate for the enjoyment, examination and serious study of artists’ print—from the old master to the contemporary. IPCNY offers its members a program of workshop and gallery visits, and has established an informational website and Information Desk available to the public at the gallery. IPCNY depends upon public and private donations to support its programs. IPCNY’s programs are supported with grants from The Lily Auchincloss Foundation, The Deborah Loeb Brice Foundation, The Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Horace W. Goldsmith Foundation, The Hess Foundation, and The Porter Family Charitable Foundation. The gallery is located in Chelsea between 10th and 11th Avenues. Hours are 11-6, Tuesday through Saturday. For additional information, please call (212) 989-5090 or visit IPCNY’s website at www.ipcny.org. For images, contact Kendra Sullivan. Image: *Polypodium Phegopterus,* Plate IV from Thomas Moore, and John Lindley, The Ferns of Great Britain and Ireland..., Nature Printed by Henry Bradbury, printed and published by Bradbury & Evans, London 1855 [-1856]. Hand-colored intaglio print from an electrotyped soft lead plate, 21-3/8 in. x 14-3/8 inches