Canadian Printmakers Exhibit in Poland

Twenty-one Canadian printmakers – more than half based in Western Canada – are exhibiting work as part of the International Print Triennial in Krakow, Poland.

The exhibition, ProTO-type(s): Experimental Contemporary Canadian Printmaking, is  on view at the Art Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts in Krakow until Aug. 24. Curated by Calgary-based artist Derek Besant, the exhibition explores the relationship between tradition and technology. 

Besant asked the 21 artists to create new work that engages with the idea of prototypes, addressing intersections between print, drawing and photography. 

“Prototypes reveal the first stages of conceptual thought," says Besant. "Prototypes inspire not only where something might reach a resolve, but also indicate that there might be several paths to follow, in order to get there.” 

The featured artists are Briar Craig and Julie Oakes, both from B.C.; Derek Besant, Sean Caulfield, John Dean, Karen Dugas, Alexandra Haeseker, Bernd Hildebrandt, Liz Ingram, Walter Jule and Jewel Shaw, all from Alberta; Jordan Baraniecki, Patricia Olynyk and Tracy Templeton, from Saskatchewan; Yael Brotman, Libby Hague and Richard Sewell, from Ontario; Bonnie Baxter, René Derouin and Jo Ann Lanneville, from Quebec; and Mark Bovey, from Nova Scotia. 

Jacek Malec, the director of Harcourt House, an artist-run centre in Edmonton, contributed an essay on the history of printmaking in Canada for the online exhibition catalogue.

Since 1966, the triennial has been a leading international forum for contemporary printmaking. Canadians have been showing at the triennial for decades, and in 2003 its highest award, the grand prix, went to Davida Kidd from Burnaby, B.C.