Falcon Building
321 NW Glisan St, 6th floor
97209 Portland Oregon
The Watershed Center for Fine Art Publishing and Research at Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) recently concluded its first semester-long artist residency with Storm Tharp. This formalizes years of publishing print editions in collaboration with visiting artists including Eli Subrack (Assume Vivid Astro Focus) and Regina Silveira as well as hosting professional printers including James Reid from Gemini G.E.L., Maurice Sanchez from Derriere L’Étoile, and Paul Mullowney from Mullowney Printing. As the research and education extension of the printmaking lab at PNCA, Watershed is staffed and supported through the MFA in Print Media program offering students unparalleled professional experiences working with contemporary artists, galleries, and museums on a whole range of projects and events.
During the summer of 2017, Tharp explored enormous monotype processes on Watershed’s newly acquired Ray Trayle relief press that accommodates a 5 x 10 foot bed with Matthew Letzelter, Chair of the MFA in Print Media program and Director of Watershed. Letzelter brings years of experience as Master Printer at Stinger Editions in Montreal and as a professional fine art printer at Derrière L‘Étoile Studio in New York.
“It’s as if a well-polished steam roller was somehow brought into the studio that could gently press out prints with such power and finesse,” says Letzelter. “This scale basically changed the approach to Storm’s creative process and allowed him to develop the large prints that really could only be done on a press this size.”
After pounds of ink and rolls of paper and a full semester of working with a crew of graduate assistants as well as Yoshi Kitai, faculty and professional printer in the program, Tharp expanded on the approaches and techniques developed over the summer to produce a final series of monotypes that will be exhibited this spring at PDX Contemporary in Portland as well as other locations.
For spring 2018, Watershed is excited to welcome Sharita Towne as incoming artist in residence. Says Lezelter, “We are looking forward to a whole new set of challenges and opportunities as she brings a multitude of possible projects and collaborators with her.”
MFA in Print Media program at Pacific Northwest College of Art works in one of the most comprehensive and dynamic print labs in the country. And every door on campus is open to students from large format digital labs and a digital fabrication lab to wood, ceramic, and metal facilities. Through work on both individual and collaborative projects, students are readied to pursue a variety of pathways into industry, research, commercial applications, education, and the broad fields of fine art and design.
The program’s expansive conversations around print media are fueled by the Jordan D. Schnitzer Exhibition and Visiting Artist Lecture Series that brings visiting artists as well as curated exhibitions from the collections of Jordan D. Schnitzer and the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation to the Center for Contemporary Art & Culture at PNCA.
Priority deadline: February 1, 2018
For more information, contact MFA in Print Media Chair, Matthew Letzelter, mletzelter@pnca.edu or see the website or the program’s Instagram.
Hallie Ford School of Graduate Studies at PNCA
Low-Residency MFA in Visual Studies / MA in Critical Studies / MFA in Applied Craft + Design (with Oregon College of Art and Craft) / MFA in Collaborative Design/MA in Design Systems / MFA in Print Media / MFA in Visual Studies
Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) empowers students to reimagine what art and design can do in the world with ten undergraduate and seven graduate programs. Located in the heart of Portland, PNCA is in the center of a progressive and affordable urban center known for its independent spirit, innovative mindset, and creative industries.
