June 20, 2006 – July 21, 2006
In this joint exhibit, both Liz Chalfin and Alison Williams utilize photopolymer printmaking to incorporate elements of drawing, photography and found materials into layered monoprints. Chalfin explores many ways that humanity is involved in the act of creation / destruction in a new series of prints. Chalfin states: “As human beings we are all creators in one sense or another – we make objects, relationships, experiences. And at this point in human history we also make life in a way never achieved before. Humanity is intricately involved in the physical, spiritual and metaphysical act of creation – we are the architects of our own evolution. These prints strive to give a sense of the beauty, fragility and potential inherent in our current state of creative power.” She explores these issues in her work through the use of symbolism.
Williams tries to translate her political and social ideas as well as convey her love and concern for the environment through her work. The images she uses are collected from books, poems, drawings, photographs, nature and textiles as well as old letters and writings that she has found. She enjoys taking old and disused objects and redefining them, making them take on a new life, changing them to relate in new ways with other objects. Williams’ work is about interpretation and transformation, about relationships between old to new, between objects, colors and textures as well as between herself and the viewer. Inspired by landscapes large and small, her latest work focuses on growth, memory and uses plant imagery to create layered patterns. The prints are at times presented as they came from the press and at other times transformed, enlarged or reduced by digital means, then printed onto paper or fabric.
Alison Williams is an artist specializing in Drawing, Painting, Printmaking and Photography. A native of New Zealand, she has a Drawing and Painting Degree from Edinburgh College of Art, Edinburgh, Scotland.
Liz Chalfin is visual artist and art educator. She is founder and director and resident artist of Zea Mays Printmaking in Florence, Massachusetts. Chalfin teaches workshops at Zea Mays and on the road at colleges and art centers regionally. She is also adjunct faculty in Lesley University’s Creative Arts in Learning graduate program. She exhibits her prints, drawings and artist’s books nationally in solo and group exhibitions. Her work is in the permanent collections of the Smith College Museum of Art and Mortimer Rare Book Room, the De Cordova Museum and the Boston Public Library. Chalfin has had solo exhibitions at the University of Maine, Augusta and the Wisteriahurst Museum.