Little Friends: Milwaukee's Worst
New work by The Little Friends of Printmaking
March 15 - April 7, 2013
Opening reception: Friday, March 22nd 6-10pm
Artists will be in attendance selling cash & carry editioned prints
Sky
High Gallery is pleased to present a new body of work by Milwaukee
based print duo THE LITTLE FRIENDS OF PRINTMAKING. This show is being
presented in association with the 2013 Southern Graphics Conference.
Artist's BIO:
You
can easily spot The Little Friends of Printmaking in a crowd—their inky
hands and clothes are a dead giveaway. Their work is just as
distinctive. JW & Melissa Buchanan first made a name for themselves
through their silkscreened concert posters, but soon branched out into
further fields, designing fancy junk for whoever would pay them money.
In addition to their work as illustrators and designers, they've
continued their fine art pursuits through exhibitions, lectures, and
artists’ residencies, spreading the gospel of silkscreen to anyone
inclined to listen. Their awards include honors from the Art Directors’
Club, American Illustration, and Communication Arts; their work has been
published in the books New Masters of Poster Design [Rockport],
Juxtapoz: Poster Art [Gingko Press], and Handmade Nation [Princeton
Architectural Press], among others.
MINI-STATEMENT:
Our
aesthetic is broadly influenced by the silkscreen process and its
idiosyncrasies-- We love its flatness; the interplay between ink layers;
its bold immediacy and its capacity for subtlety. We try to imbue our
print designs with a playful looseness that leads the viewer to consider
the process by which the print was created, in order to demystify the
process and reaffirm the qualities that make screenprints desirable and
unique among works on paper.
For
us, the definitions of Art and Design have become interchangeable. We
work primarily as printmakers, but also take on design projects from
outside collaborators. We've charted an alternate course for ourselves
somewhere between Art and Design, without drawing a bright line of
distinction between them.
Additional press materials & images available upon request.