The Award-Winning Art Center in Dover, New Hampshire, is hosting an exhibit during the months of January and February called Shadow & Light, featuring the work of Barrington artist Diane St. Jean.
Diane is a printmaker exploring collagraph prints and letterpress. Her collagraph prints are intimate and mysterious. Despite the care and patience required by the process, there is also the element of surprise. It is impossible to know exactly what a print will look like until the inked plate is run through the etching press under heavy pressure on dampened paper. Diane describes this unpredictability as “magic.” Regarding her process she says, “For my collagraph plates, I use recycled or found objects combined with acrylic gloss varnish or matte medium. I often use food packaging material, such as milk cartons, for the plates, and I’ll add bits of paper, foil, or mica.”
Diane’s letterpress work is focused on social justice issues. She enjoys collecting antique wood type and says, “I still believe in the power of the printed word, and the physical process of creating a message with wood type on a vintage press is very satisfying.”
The Art Center’s online gallery of Diane St. Jean’s work can be viewed at https://www.
Shadow & Light will be on display through February with a reception on Saturday, February 11 from 6 to 9 p.m. in conjunction with the artists reception for The Art Center’s Worldwide Printmaking Exhibition. The public is invited to attend.
Please visit the Art Center located at 1 Washington Street, Dover, NH, Suite 1177. Gallery hours are Monday – Friday 10am – 6pm and Saturday 10am – 2pm. Visit www.theartcenterdover.com or call 603-978-6702 for more information.