2009 Novosibirsk Graphic Art Biennial

Stephen Mumberson, Vice Chair of the Printmakers Council of the UK and I made the selection for the United Kingdom Printmakers for this 6th Novosibirsk Graphic Art Biennale, the first time that UK printmakers have been included in this Biennale. The PMC was founded in 1965 to promote the art of printmaking and the work of contemporary printmakers. The membership is broad and open to work covering digital print forms, print construction bookwork, print installation and all the traditional forms of print. PMC holds regular members shows around Britain. Through our careful selection process for this exhibition, we wanted to show work that demonstrated a rich variety of printing processes from traditional print methods such as etching to the more recent digital enhanced prints. To include the work by older and established printmakers and show work by younger artists just emerging from University; showing an eclectic mix of styles and approaches to their work and subject matter. Printmaking in Britain has gained a new vigor with the introduction of new digital possibilities and by its incorporation into traditional methods of print. The computer in print practice has driven a revaluation of approach by many artist printmakers extending practice into fields such as installation, print constructions, complex text works and book pieces, also printworks on a new epic scale. This has renewed interest in the traditional methods and strengthens the interest in the need for drawing in the new forms. The use of digital imaging makes this an exciting, challenging, and innovative time to be an artist printmaker investigating new potentials. It also encouraged a major revaluation of printmaking processes in general; raising the issues of authenticity and ownership. These are current issues within contemporary art practice and the growth of works of art readily available on the World Wide Web, blurring the distinction between ‘original’ and ‘reproduction’. The challenge now is to move on from the legacy of traditional print to a broader definition of its possibilities, be they in the field of art in public, art in the gallery or on the web. Creating a synergy between processes old and new opening up new areas of freedom and diversity, establishing a unique repertoire of aesthetic tools. The atmosphere among British Printmakers has become increasingly inventive and positive within print where the activity is seen as positive and inventive, the medium of the bold and possible