The International Mezzotint Exchange Exhibition, featuring 24 mezzotint images created by artists from 10 countries, will be on display at the Northwest Art Center's Hartnett Hall Gallery Dec. 4-31. The participating artists are all members of the International Mezzotint Society and participated in the 2011 membership print exchange. Each printmaker created a mezzotint edition of 25 prints, exchanging their work with the other artists and donating one impression to be exhibited.
Linda Whitney, professor of art at Valley City State University and International Mezzotint Society board member, curated the exhibition. In addition to the Northwest Art Center, the exhibit tour includes Valley City, Bismarck, Wahpeton, Glendive, Mont., and Staten Island, N.Y.
The mezzotint printmaking process was invented by German artist Ludwig von Siegen in the 1600s and was extensively used by artists and craftsmen up to the early 20th century when other printmaking techniques became more popular. In the last 20 years, it has experienced a resurgence.
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Nest, a mezzotint by Serbian printmaker Snezana Petrovic, is one of the works included in the International Mezzotint Exchange Exhibition on display at the Northwest Art Center’s Hartnett Hall Gallery at Minot State University Dec. 4-31.
The International Mezzotint Society was established in 1997. More than 100 international members share enthusiasm and information, and spread knowledge of the technique and its history to other artists. The I.M.S. also extends membership to devotees, mezzotint collectors and print-lovers.
Several of the printmakers in the exhibition were invited to exhibit their prints in the International Mezzotint Festival in Ekaterinburg, Russia, during the summer of 2011.
The exhibit is free and open to the public. Parking on the MSU campus is unrestricted after 5 p.m.
This project is funded in part by a grant from the North Dakota Council on the Arts, which receives funding from the state legislature and the National Endowment for the Arts.