Another World Is Possible

2022 Zea Mays Printmaking Biennial Exhibition at APE Ltd. Gallery

Venue: A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery, Northampton MA, 126 Main St, Northampton, MA 01060

Gallery Hours: Tuesday – Sunday 12 – 5, Friday 12 – 8, closed Monday

Exhibition dates: September 8 – October 8, 2022

Opening Reception: Friday, September 9, 2022

Jurors: Juana Valdes, multi-media artist and Associate Professor (printmaking), UMass Amherst; and Shichio Minato, printmaker, curator, Professor of Art, Fukui University, Fukui, Japan and organizer of first Green Printmaking Symposium in Asia (2019)

Curatorial Statement:

Artists, indeed all of us, can and often do attempt to predict or imagine possible outcomes for the crises-filled world in which we now live. This exhibition calls on printmakers to reflect on future scenarios, both near and far, and envision expansion or a sort of end game. Do we imagine dystopias or utopias? Do we believe that tomorrows may be worse than yesterdays or do we visualize the possibilities of a cleaner and clearer, more balanced world?

Juried from 96 entries by Zea Mays Printmaking members and past Artists in Residence, the resulting art works takes the form of 2 and 3-D prints, artists’ books and installations.

“Through the screening of the entries, I felt the power of art to solve problems that transcend common sense. While “another world is possible” is an extremely open-ended theme that can be taken in a variety of ways, it also poses the difficulty of having to reexamine one’s own stance as an artist.

‘As an artist, how do you perceive the world?’ One’s view of life itself as an artist will be questioned.”

…

All the entries had established their own unique styles and worldviews, demonstrating the high caliber of the artists. The fact that the pandemic gave us more time to ourselves than ever before may have had a positive impact on us expressive artists.

From natural disasters such as major earthquakes and fires to wars, terrorism, financial crises, and even very personal but life-shattering losses and traumatic events, there are a wide variety of catastrophes occurring in modern society. It is difficult to find the right answers to these questions, but we artists have reaffirmed that it is possible to give many people the courage to face these difficult issues through our printmaking.

-Shichio Minato, printmaker, curator, Professor of Art, Fukui University, Fukui, Japan and organizer of first Green Printmaking Symposium in Asia (2019)

“Another World is Possible,” as the title for the exhibition, suggests there is still time to create, imagine or restore our world. In their varied printmaking processes, the artworks I selected for the show take on the challenge of imagining a better future, restoring an unbalanced past, and reexamining our current state of being. In their many forms, they offer us a vision forward, a place to reflect on the human condition, and hope to amend our relationship with the planet we inhabit.

-Juana Valdes, multi-media artist and Associate Professor, University of Massachusetts, Amherst

For all sales inquiries, please contact A.P.E. Ltd. Gallery, 413.586.5553, http://www.apearts.org/contact-ape.html