Red Press Collaborative features Printmaker Nicole Hand

Youngstown State University’s Department of Art presents a new Red Press Collaborative installment featuring guest artist Nicole Hand Monday, Oct. 16 through Thursday, October 19 in Room 4025, Bliss Hall.

Open studio sessions will be held 9:30-11:30 a.m. and 1:00-3:30 p.m. throughout the four days. She will present a lecture 4:30 p.m. Monday, Oct. 16 in the McDonough Auditorium.

All events are free and open to the public anytime during the open hours.

YSU art students will collaborate with Hand to produce a limited-edition Intaglio print. Printing will take place throughout the week, and prints, which are $125, will be pre-sold during the event. All proceeds from the print will support students of the YSU printmaking program, the print collaboration itself, and a student study abroad this summer in Glasgow, Scotland.

Hand, a professor of Art at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky, teaches printmaking, bookbinding and drawing. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally in over 200 solo, invitational, and juried exhibitions. Themes of maternity, reproduction, femininity, closure, transitions, and correspondence are apparent in her work, while the techniques of printmaking and bookbinding complement her image development and need for repetition. She received her MFA in printmaking from the University of Miami, and a BFA from the University of South Dakota.

“Print collaboration in its tradition, has fostered relationships between professional artists and students, using the most contemporary and comprehensive printmaking concepts available,” said Joseph D’Uva, associate professor and area coordinator, Printmaking. “The Red Press Collaborative is a means towards creating these interactions and educating future fine art printmakers. We are excited about this year’s guest artist and look forward to the print we will create.”

The Red Press Collaborative is a program designed to promote fine art printmaking at Youngstown State University and within the Mahoning Valley. A limited-edition print is created through the collaboration between a visiting guest artist of international scope assisted by YSU art students. Various printmaking methods, such as Intaglio, Relief, Lithography, Screenprint and Digital Printing will be utilized and showcased throughout the program.

The event is named after an American-made Takach lithography press, located in the printmaking studio, painted red to honor YSU and legendary Tamarind Master Printers Bill Lagattuta and Jeffery Sippel, Professor D'Uva's mentors. Furthermore, this collaboration offers students the opportunity to work alongside and learn from professional artists.

Parking is available in the M30 Wick Avenue parking deck via Walnut Street (GPS address is 100 Wade Street, Youngstown OH 44502) for a nominal fee. Patrons are advised to watch for posted detours as construction progresses on Wick Avenue. For more information, call the Office of Community Engagement and Events at 330-941-2307.