Converse Hosts Southern Graphics Council International Traveling Exhibition

Converse College will host the Southern Graphics Council International Traveling Exhibition, a collection of 41 prints representing a diverse range of imagery, conceptualization and content by members of the SGCI, beginning Sept. 30, 2010. Featuring a wide variety of printmaking processes including: relief prints (lino, woodcut), intaglio (etchings, drypoints), screen-prints and an extensive collection of lithographs, the works will be displayed in the Milliken Art Gallery on the Converse campus through Oct. 28, 2010.

A Gallery Talk with Converse College’s associate professor of studio art; printmaking/photography, Andrew Blanchard, will take place in Milliken Art Gallery on Thursday, Oct. 7, at 6:00 p.m. followed by the opening reception at 6:30 p.m. The exhibit is free and open to the public.

Before making its way around the country, this juried print exhibit was first shown during the SGCI 2009 conference in Chicago at Columbia College.

For Blanchard, being one of the featured artists in this traveling show hits especially close to home. “As a professor and member of the Spartanburg community, my responsibility is to do everything I can to get Converse out there in the larger printmaking community. And as an artist, I believe my role is to make large bodies of work, put it out there for the populis to enjoy and/or be challenged by, and see what comes back to me. For Converse to be hosting this show, along with several prestigious colleges and universities who are known world-wide for their print departments, I believe validates our increasing presence in the printmaking community.”

SGCI is an educational non-profit organization committed to informing their membership about issues and processes concerning original prints, drawings, book arts, and hand-made paper. SGCI strives to increase public appreciation of these arts. Through an annual conference that draws participants nationally and internationally, significant dialogue and exchange of technical and critical information occurs. Awards, publications and exhibitions promote greater understanding, scholarship and enjoyment of these art forms.