Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection
Opens At the Housatonic Museum of Art on February 3
Housatonic Museum of Art, located on the Housatonic Community College campus in Bridgeport, CT, is pleased to announce Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection, on view from February 3 - March 25, 2022.
Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection brings together a rich array of works on paper, breaking down the various methods and materials used in modern artistic practice. Showcasing 50 superb prints and drawings, this exhibition samples the breadth and beauty of International Arts & Artists’ own Hechinger Collection, which has the unique theme of hand tools and hardware. Focusing on the creative process, the featured works represent a variety of media and disciplines at an artist’s disposal. Audiences will learn about the intricacies of these assorted techniques, and directly see how an artist makes a statement through the graphic arts. Making Your Mark’s celebration of the visual and conceptual aspects of drawing and printmaking educates and inspires in the best way, leaving viewers engaged, and rapt with curiosity.
Some of the most influential artists of the twentieth century are featured in the exhibition, including Berenice Abbott, Jim Dine, Richard Estes, Walker Evans, Howard Finster, Ke Francis, Jacob Lawrence, Hans Namuth, Claes Oldenburg, James Rosenquist, Lucas Samaras, Aaron Siskind, and Wayne Thiebaud.
Making Your Mark begins by establishing drawing as its foundation, then moves through five distinct printing styles, then shifts to the contemporary method of screen printing. The final technique, photography — whose name unites the Greek words for light (photos) and drawing (graphé)—brings the exhibition full circle, returning the viewer to the inception of mark-making. Each section highlights the complexities of the unique artistic process, and a timeless affinity for the beauty of lines and the bewitching utility of tools as instruments of craft.
The exhibition will be on view in the museum’s Burt Chernow Galleries, located in Lafayette Hall at 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport. There will be no opening reception. Tickets must be reserved in advance of visiting, and masks must be worn at all times. Visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org to sign up.
Scheduled U.S tour dates for Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection are as follows: Carnegie Arts Center, Turlock, CA (September 18, 2021 – January 3, 2022); Susquehanna Museum of Art, Harrisburg, PA (June 10, 2022 – September 18, 2022); Hillstrom Museum of Art at Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter, MN (November 21, 2022 –January 27, 2023).
Making Your Mark: Prints and Drawings from the Hechinger Collection is organized and toured by International Arts & Artists, Washington, DC.
About International Arts & Artists
International Arts & Artists (IA&A) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to promoting cross-cultural understanding and exposure to the arts internationally. Since 1995, IA&A has fulfilled its mission by providing programs and services to artists, arts institutions, cultural organizations, and the public—reaching over 2.1 million people. Visit www.artsandartists.org for more information.
About the Housatonic Museum of Art
Housatonic Museum of Art is located on the Housatonic Community College campus, located at 900 Lafayette Blvd. in Bridgeport. It is home to one of the premier college art collections in the country, spanning the history of art from the ancient to the contemporary, and is on continuous display throughout the 300,000 square foot facility. The museum also hosts changing exhibitions in the Burt Chernow Galleries, and engaging lectures, workshops, films, special events and programs throughout the year, both in person and online. Visit www.HousatonicMuseum.org to learn more.
Caption For Photo Above: Judith Cowan, Wrench, 1984, Color oil stick on wove paper, Photograph by IA&A, © Judith Cowan
Caption For Photo Right: Jacob Lawrence, The Builders, 1974, Color screenprint on wove paper, Photograph by IA&A, © Jacob Lawrence/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York
Caption For Photo Right: Clayton Pond, Hot Water Heater, 1981, Color screenprint on wove paper, Photograph by IA&A, © Clayton Pond, 1973/Clayton Pond, Artist