Arts & Culture

Explore Contemporary Printmaking at Mid America Print Council’s Juried Exhibition

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photo of 5 prints from the Mid America Print Council Member's Juried Exhibition
photo for works featuring stems of plants in popular business cups by Yoonmi Nam

LEXINGTON, Ky. (Oct. 3, 2019) Delve into a variety of traditional print media as well as installation, animation and sculpture at this year’s Mid America Print Council (MAPC) Member’s Juried Exhibition. The annual exhibition, showcasing the range of work in contemporary printmaking, is hosted by the University of Kentucky School of Art and Visual Studies' Bolivar Art Gallery, and features 50 pieces selected by this year’s juror, Yoonmi Nam, running Oct. 4 to Nov. 2.

The Mid America Print Council is an educational and community-based organization that focuses on all print related arts. Embracing both time-honored and innovative approaches, the council promotes awareness and appreciation of traditional and contemporary forms of printmaking.

MAPC is an inclusive association for individuals and institutions, administering the sharing of technical and critical information regarding print. Honoring its predecessors, the council aims to bring new and sustained interest to this medium. Through calls for participation, MAPC organizes members’ exhibitions and publishes The Mid America Print Council Journal. The council's goal is to recognize, advocate and continue research in historical, current and future print technologies.

Concurrent to the 2019 MAPC Members’ Juried Exhibition, Yoonmi Nam will exhibit a selection of her recent prints in a solo show titled “For A Little While.” Nam will kick off the exhibition with an Artist Talk noon Friday, Oct. 4, in the Bolivar Art Gallery, located on the first floor of the Art and Visual Studies Building. The opening reception for both exhibitions will follow immediately after her talk. 

Through observations of everyday objects and occurrences, Nam’s work considers cross-cultural experience and sense of transience. In her prints, drawings, sculptural works and installations, she uses familiar disposable objects and cut flower arrangements as subject matter and explores their materiality, ephemerality, persistence and the common and extraordinary way we structure our surroundings.

Nam has received numerous grants and awards to support her studio practice and travel. Her work is in the collections of the RISD Museum, Rhode Island; Spencer Museum of Art, Kansas; and the Beach Museum of Art, Kansas; among others, and has been shown both nationally and internationally including countries such as Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, Korea, Germany, Poland, Mexico, Bulgaria, Italy, Sweden and Paraguay.

The UK School of Art and Visual Studies, at the UK College of Fine Arts, is an accredited member of the National Association of Schools of Art and Design and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees in the fields of art studioart history and visual studiesart education and digital media and design.