Janet Turner Print Museum

Lithos Galore

September, 18 2009

“Πετρα: Stone: Litho,” the opening Turner exhibition of the 2009-2010 season, is all about lithography. Twenty to thirty fine art prints from the 18th, 19th and 20th centuries trace the development of lithographic printmaking as an art form...from black and white to color, from historic to modern and from representational to abstract.

The “Πετρα: Stone: Litho” exhibit runs August 24 — September 18th at the Turner, located in the CSU Meriam Library. Gallery hours are 11:00 AM — 4:00 PM weekdays.

“Litho-graph” is Greek for “stone writing.” Created in 1798, lithography joined the ranks of the existing printmaking techniques woodcut, copper engraving, etching, wood engraving and movable type. It was invented by a Bavarian actor, Aloys Senefelder, who was looking for an inexpensive way to print copies of plays and music. Lithography became very popular in the 1830’s because it was the first printmaking medium to allow an artist to paint or draw directly on a flat stone to create an image. Many 19th and 20th century artists including Currier and Ives, Delacroix, Daumier, Manet, Redon, Toulouse-Lautrec, Bonnard, Vuillard, Picasso, Braque, Matisse, Klee, Kandinsky and Chagall all worked in lithography.

“Reflecting a multitude of lithographic styles evolving over three centuries, the exhibition ties in with the CSU, Chico fall semester printmaking course on lithography,” says Turner curator Catherine Sullivan.

CSU art professor and printmaker Eileen Macdonald adds, “The exhibition will provide students the opportunity to study a wide variety of lithographic techniques and artistic styles. Viewing original prints, rather than reproductions, helps students understand how prints are created and exposes them to creative possibilities that lithography offers. This exhibition is part of the ongoing educational support that the Janet Turner Print Museum provides to the art department.”

One of the missions of the Turner is to educate students of all ages and the public in general about the process of fine art printmaking. As a professor of art, Janet Turner used her collection of prints as a teaching tool to illustrate different printmaking techniques. “Πετρα: Stone: Litho” continues this fine tradition.

Included in the Turner exhibit will be work by Christo, known world-wide for his environmental art including “Running Fence” (1976) in Sonoma and Marin counties and “Umbrellas” (1991) in southern California. The only remains of these temporary installations are his drawings, collages and prints. Also included in the exhibition are works by the California “Funk Art Movement” artists, Roy DeForest and Robert Arneson.

For more information, visit www.theturner.org or call the museum office at 898-4476. Arrangements for group tours and special visiting hours can be made through the museum office.