April 1—10, 2016

Portland is welcoming the annual Southern Graphics Council International conference this year from March 30 – April 2nd. And as part of the printmaking festivities, we’ve got a special program in the gallery.

This project considers the practice of publishing, collecting, and trading prints throughout history and the shifting role of the artist, publisher, and print shop within that history.

In the late 19th century, offset lithography enabled the average consumer to collect mass produced trade cards depicting a wide variety of popular culture subject matter. Artists have made double-sided prints which have been collated into archival sleeves and three-ring box binder. Thematically associated with commercial trade cards or collectible ephemera, this portfolio references a method of pop-culture consumption that has become obsolete: the accumulation of popular printed matter as a source of data, self-identification, and social currency.

The binder also connects this outdated hobby to the contemporary art world as the success of the project rests on an artist-defined economy that subverts the commercial art market—artists trading their work with one another.

This show features the work of:

Ben Beres, Noah Breuer, Christi Birchfield, Grayson Cox, Endless Editions (Chris Gideon & Abraham Mascoro Morales), Elizabeth Ferrill, Eric Guerrero, Anna Haglin, Jenny Harp, Cassandra Hooper, Case Hudson, Anita Jung, Michael Krueger, Rachel Livedalen, Zophia McDougal, Martin Mazorra, Jarrett Mitchell, Benjamin Moreau, Mike Neff, Kristina Paabus, Nancy Palmeri, Kyle Peets, Ricardo Ruiz, Jason Sturgill, Seth Scantlen, Ryann Slauson, Brian Shure, Breanne Trammell, Syd Webb, Paul Windle.