Posts By: Spudnik

Meet the Curators: Local Curators Bring 50 Top Artists to Spudnik

On Saturday, October 4, the Spudnik Press Printshop and Annex will be transformed into a pop-up gallery featuring fifty of Chicago’s most accomplished artists. All the artwork is up for auction with 100% of the proceeds supporting Spudnik Press programming. Our five curators represent a rich cross-section of Chicago’s art scene, with a focus on media that Spudnik directly supports, including design, book arts, social practices, painting, illustration, and of coarse printmaking. All artwork comes framed and silent auction bidding begins at just $35-55. Purchase Tickets Online

Meet Roman Titus, Chicago Design Museum & Co-Founder of Nelson Cash

Roman Titus is probably best known for co-founding Nelson Cash. More recently, he’s been a big contributor to the Chicago Design Museum, acting as the Exhibit Design Director. However, before these ventures, he ran BLDG, a creative studio, printshop, and art gallery in Kentucky. In Roman’s own words “I connect dots to make ideas into reality. I’m a collaborative builder. The power of multiple brains connecting for the use of creating something new and different is exciting to me. The possibilities are endless there.”

Meet La Keisha Leek, Independent Curator

La Keisha Leek is a writer, arts administrator and curator. Her interests within art history are architecture, race, performance, and site-specific projects that investigate the ways bodies and objects offer up themselves, adapt to and negotiate their presence within spaces. She is also a member of several Chicago-based artist collectives including Hyde Park Dacha and Potluck: Chicago. La Keisha’s work clearly embraces a collaborative spirit. Her current curatorial project, How To Make a Hood, at the Arts Incubator in Washington Park is on display through October 10. (Photo (Above) Credit: Kevin Thomas)

Meet Joe Tallarico, Comics Editor, Lumpen Magazine

Joe Tallarico is the man behind the annual Comics Issue of Lumpen Magazine. Each summer, this magazine brings together a ridiculously talented and diverse selection of artists including local, national, and international talent. Joe is also an accomplished artist himself. He is an active member of the collaborative comics group, Trubble Club. You may have scene his animation at the DePaul Art Museum, viewable from the Red Line in late 2012, or his illustration on Spiteful Brewing labels. Needless to say, he’s well positioned to bring an all-star line up to the Spudnik Press Benefit.

Meet Ruslana Lichtzier, ACRE 2015 Curatorial Fellow

 ACRE is a volunteer-run non-profit based in Chicago devoted to employing various systems of support for emerging artists and to creating a generative community of cultural producers. In addition to hosting over 70 resident artists each summer, they curate exhibitions year round through out Chicago.

Ruslana Lichtzier serves on the ACRE Curatorial Board. She has studied in Israel, Austria, as well as SAIC. Her writing has been published in The Seen, International Online Journal for Contemporary & Modern Art, and she has been a guest lecturer at SAIC and Illinois State University. For the Benefit, Ruslana will be presenting works united by the theme of Science/Fiction. A full-scale exhibition of the same title is forthcoming.

Meet Jessica Cochran, Independent Curator

Named a “curator to watch” by Chicago Magazine in 2013, Jessica Cochran has curated exhibitions for the Contemporary Arts Council, School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Around the Coyote GalleryWhat it Is and the Wicker Park/Bucktown Chamber of Commerce.  She coordinated exhibitions and public programs for the Poetry Foundation, Art Chicago, NEXT and the Artist Project. She was recently the Curator of Exhibitions and Programs at the Center for Book and Paper Art, and is now a Curatorial and Collection Manager for a private contemporary art collection. Jessica, who serves on the Spudnik Press Board of Directors, will be curating a special selection that highlights that artists that have recently worked with Spudnik Press through our Residency Programming, Publishing, Studio Access Programs, and Exhibitions.

Spudnik Welcomes Kate McQuillen as Fall 2014 Resident Artist

Spudnik Press Cooperative is pleased to introduce our 20th Resident Artist, Kate McQuillen.  Through out the fall, Kate will be spending her mornings at our studio exploring the destructive possibilities of the printing press.

She will be creating full sheet, full-bleed monoprints that will be used to create larger works. For her exhibition, she plans on creating an immersive installation, combining wall-size collaged works with illuminated, free-standing print sculptures. Existing together in one space, the works will aim for a sensibility of being surrounded by data, and a feeling of hunting, tracking, and evading in the night.

McQuillen will be the Spudnik Press Resident Artist through December 15, 2014. A solo exhibition of her work will be presented in The Annex at Spudnik Press in early 2015.

Learn more about our  Residency Program or read a review of Kate’s work on Printeresting.

CPG 5 Year Anniversary Exhibition

Curator:

Luke Daly, with support from the CPG Board of Directors

Featured Artist:

Jaclyn Jacunski
Kate McQuillen
Matt Bodett
Megan Sterling
Justin Santora
Zissou Tasseff-Elenkoff
Todd Irwin
Maggie Marlin
Troy Lehman

Plus select prints from the CPG Archive.

Dates:

10/18/2014 – 11/26/2014

Location:

The Annex @ Spudnik Press

Opening Reception:

Saturday October 18, 2014
6:00-9:00pm

Press Release:

Established in 2009, the Chicago Printers Guild (CPG) supports and fosters the work of printers and seeks to bridge the gap between commercial printing and fine-art printmaking.

The CPG 5 Year Anniversary highlights the collaborative nature and collective ethos of the guild by presenting both individual collaborative works by members of the guild. As the CPG reaches a five year milestone, we celebrates the exemplary work in print media being produced in Chicago and showcase the impact the guild has on its members and the Chicago printmaking community alike. New collaborative works are by featured artists Jaclyn Jacunski, Kate McQuillen, Matt Bodett, Megan Sterling, Justin Santora, Zissou Tasseff-Elenkoff, Todd Irwin, and Maggie Marlin. Additional prints will be on display from the CPG Archive, house by the Center for Book and Paper Arts at Columbia College. Additionally, the exhibition will include a free takeaway designed by Troy Lehman and printed on Spudnik Press Cooperative’s newest equipment, a Risograph 3700.

The CPG 5 Year Anniversary Opening Reception will be held Saturday October 18th, 6-9pm and is a Featured Chicago Artist Month Event. In addition to the Annex at Spudnik Press, the 1821 Hubbard Street Lofts are hosting their Fall Open House. Participating venues include Platform Studios, Tsubo Salon and the private studios of Gerda Meyer Bernstein and Doug Fogelson.

Spud Picks: Moving Blanket

Moving Blanket
By Kostas Anagnopoulos
Published by Ugly Duckling Presse

August Spud Pick by Veronica Siehl, Spudnik Studio Manager

Shifting between poetry and prose, Moving Blanket by Kostas Anagnopoulos explores everyday moments. His prose stretches out mundane observations placing them in a realm that is based neither in reality or fantasy. This elegant book is nice to hold and easy to get lost in. The weaving of poetry with prose engages the reader and contributes to the sense that we are catching glimpses of dreams, conscious thought and collective feelings. Ugly Duckling Presse has fulfilled their aim of “calling attention to the labor and history of bookmaking” by publishing not only an engrossing read but a beautiful object.”

Spud Pick books can be found in the Small Press Library in the Annex

Lucha Lives

Curator:

Salvador Andrade Arévalo

Featured Artist:

Ricardo Xavier Serment

Dates:

8/30/2014 – 09/30/2014

Location:

The Printshop @ Spudnik Press

Opening Reception:

Saturday August 30, 2014
6:00-9:00pm

Press Release:

Lucha Lives is an exploration of the generational realities and mythologies experienced within immigrant communities, particularly those of Mexican Americans in Chicago. Using the iconographic imagery of Lucha Libre, artist Ricardo Serment pivots around the struggle, mirth, and quotidian by shining a spotlight on the spectacle that the everyday can be.

Ricardo Xavier Serment was born in Chicago to Mexican immigrant parents. In 2007, he graduated from Columbia College Chicago with a BFA, concentrating in printmaking. He currently works in drawing, relief printing, and screen-printing; he also creates handmade books and portfolios. His inspiration draws from an array of collaboratives and movements including: the Taller de Gráfica Popular, Japanese Ukiyo-e prints, Contemporary American printmakers, and the Mexican Muralism movement.

 

Spud Picks: Nox

Nox
By Ron Silliman
Published by Burning Deck Press

August Spud Pick by Hannah King, Spudnik Volunteer

“Nox by Ron Silliman, letterpress printed and designed by Rosmarie Waldrop of Burning Deck Press, is an incredible example of design and words working together to enhance meaning. Simple lines divide the text on each page encouraging a fluid reading experience – the single words of Silliman can be endlessly rearranged to create new content and interpretations. Rosmarie Waldrop’s skill as a printer and understanding of the ways in which the vessel delivering the text can enhance the reader’s experience are clearly evident in this elegant and interesting book. ”

 

Spud Pick books can be found in the Small Press Library in the Annex

Accepting Applications for Fall Internships through August 15

Internships at Spudnik Press focus on bringing students into every aspect of facilitating a community studio. Interns assist with daily maintenance of the shop, included cleaning, stocking, and ordering supplies, marketing, exhibitions, record keeping, fundraising, workshops, and classes, and more. Students typically work at the shop two days a week (Wednesday, Thursday, or Friday) 10-5pm. Internship interviews will take place the week of August 18 and internships will begin in September.

Each year, our two fall interns team up to organize and host our Holiday Art Sale. 2012 was yeti themed and brought together a mix of Spudnik members and current students. In 2013, we worked around the theme Prints in Space. Clearly, our fall internship is perfect for students interest in printmaking who want to get arts programming experience and learn the ropes of arts administration.

See all the Details or Download the Job Description.

 

Spud Picks: The Heads

The Heads
By Justin Sirois
Published by Newlight Press

August Spud Pick by Angee Lennard, Founder and Executive Director of Spudnik

“The Head epitomizes Spudnik’s mentality: The physicality and presentation of the text add meaning and evokes curiosity. The green cover is not colored stock but white paper inked solidly! Close inspection reveals an embossed title on front and secret stanza on back. This attention to form continues through the book with hand-sewn signatures and copious letterpress embellishments.  This quality of production is standard for Aaron Cohick and Newlights Press, a publisher worth following religiously.

For the writing, Sirois’ poetry is slightly surreal. It instigates spin-off narratives but doesn’t assume importance. The Head is a delightful read that makes me curious about his novels.

The Newlights Press Blog boasts many more publications that combine amazing literary talent with incredibly high production quality, usually including letterpress.

Justin Sirois has many other published works that look equally as interesting and perhaps heavier subject matter, like Falcons on the Floor that looks at the battle of Fallujah seen on the ground by Iraqis, and So Say the Waiters, a series of books about a software developer who has created kidnap, a social network that allows people to kidnap each other for fun.”

 

Spud Pick books can be found in the Small Press Library in the Annex

Recombinant Stare: a Stare Magazine Retrospective

Curator:

Kevin Riordan

Featured Artists:

Wayne Bertola
Mike Brehm
Elroy Christy
Peter Hannan
Bradley Lastname
Jean Riordan
Fritz Wolfmeyer

Dates:

8/30/2014 – 09/30/2014

Location:

The Annex @ Spudnik Press

Opening Reception:

Saturday August 30, 2014
6:00-9:00pm

Press Release:

Recombinant Stare is an exhibition that pulls together strands from Kevin Riordan’s Stare Press, particularly Stare Magazine, a publication focusing on irreverent and arresting graphic art and writing that ran from1976-1991. The show consists of issues of the magazine as well as books, posters, press sheets, photostats, and photographs. It also brings together recent and selected publications and works by some of the many Stare contributors, including Wayne Bertola, Mike Brehm, Elroy Christy, Peter Hannan, Bradley Lastname, Jean Riordan and the late Fritz Wolfmeyer. The show will be accompanied by the publication of a printed book that is part catalog and part transgression against the encrypted order of cataloguing. Stare steps on toes and gets up your nose by throwing its flyweight around without leaving the ground.

Kevin Riordan is a lifelong Chicagoan and long time staff and faculty member of Columbia College Chicago. A former art museum security guard, sock salesman and comic book production slave, he attended 6 post secondary schools including vocational training at the Boys Club, 1975, in printing, which he used to subvert American culture throughout the next few decades, through the publication of Stare magazine and other seditious editions and exhibitions.

 

Bred Press #1

Curator:

Brad Rohloff, 2014 Studio Fellow

Featured Artists:

Abe Lampert
Alabaster
Andy Burkholder
Ben Marcus
Danielle Chenette
Inés Estrada
Michael Olivo
Natali Koromoto
Nicole Ginelli

Dates:

07/19/2014 – 8/23/2014

Location:

The Printshop @ Spudnik Press

Opening Reception:

Saturday July 19, 2014 5:00-8:00pm

Press Release:

Bred Press is an artist books, comics, and zine publishing house located in Chicago. Started by Brad Rohloff in 2014, it provides a platform by which to support contemporary artists working within the medium of printed and published matter. Bred Box #1 is a printed suite of work by comics artists invited and published by Bred Press. The inaugural release of Bred Box will have Abe Lampert, Alabaster, Andy Burkholder, Ben Marcus, Danielle Chenette, Inés Estrada, Michael Olivo, Natali Koromoto, and Nicole Ginelli all with new offset lithograph prints. Bred Box comes in an edition of 150, packaged in a screenprinted envelope and numbered. Bred Box #1 will be for sale at the opening as well as individual prints from the artists.

Fall 2014 Artist Residency Announced: More Benefits for Residents

We proudly invite Chicago artists to apply for our The Fall Residency position at Spudnik Press Cooperative. Now in its sixth year, The Residency Program has hosted 19 local artists, including Lilli Carré, Miller & Shellabarger, Jessica Taylor Caponigro, and Polly Yates. As our roster of artists continues to expand, the benefits and resources we can offer our residents grows as well. The Residency now includes solo exhibition, publishing, critique, and studio visit opportunities, in addition to three-month access to our facilities and free art supplies.

In 2013, we opened our gallery, The Annex, which now hosts solo exhibitions of new work by the majority of our residents. At the same time, we began working closely with our residents to publish an Artist Book to accompany their exhibitions. Publications created through our Residency Program include Walking Driftward by Hannah Ireland and Aboutface by Veronica Siehl, both of which combine illustrations and visual artwork with original writing and poetry.

This fall, we increase the opportunities for critical dialog and exchange by coordinating two studio visits during the residency period with established artists, curators or gallerists. The Fall Resident will also have the opportunity for group critique with artists participating in our Studio Fellowship program.

Please download the Fall 2014 Residency Packet and help spread the word about this opportunity.