The National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C. has announced it will archive 16 prints published recently by the USF Institute for Research in Art’s Graphicstudio. This marks another chapter in a decades-long relationship between the two institutions, celebrating Graphicstudio’s pioneering role in the intersection of art and education.
Sebastiaan Bremer working in residence at Graphicstudio. Photography by Will Lytch.
The National Gallery first established an archive of Graphicstudio’s work in 1990, hosting a major exhibition and publishing a comprehensive catalogue that chronicled the studio’s first 31 years. This drew more than 250,000 visitors from around the world to explore the Graphicstudio’s groundbreaking research and creativity.
“The acquisition of recently published prints by the National Gallery is testimony to the importance and relevance of the artists and the quality of the prints produced in Graphicstudio’s collaborative environment,” said Margaret Miller, director of Graphicstudio.
Sebastiaan Bremer collaborating with Graphicstudio faculty Tom Pruitt and Tim Baker
in the studio. Photography by Will Lytch.
The newly acquired works highlight the diversity and depth of Graphicstudio’s output. Among them are five prints by Mark Dion, whose diagrammatic artworks evoke instructional classroom maps, complete with chalk marks applied by the artist. National Gallery Director Kaywin Feldman described Dion’s works that “slyly examine the ways dominant ideologies and public institutions shape our understanding of history, knowledge and the natural world.”
Additional selections include a compelling print by Duke Riley and a suite of three prints by Sebastiaan Bremer. The Life During Wartime portfolio – a collaboration with the University of South Florida’s Contemporary Art Museum – was also acquired. This collection features seven works created during the height of the Covid-19 pandemic by artists such as Jake and Dinos Chapman, Ellen Harvey, Deborah Kass and Hew Locke, serving as an artistic epilogue to the museum’s groundbreaking virtual exhibition of the same name that was curated by Christian Viveros-Fauné, curator at large. Feldman emphasized the National Gallery’s enthusiasm, noting they were “eager to acquire work by artists such as these.”
Prints from the Life During Wartime portfolio including (clockwise from bottom) Sebastiaan
Bremer, "I’ve been holding my breath now for a while now #2," 2021, Jake and Dinos
Chapman, "The Disasters of Yoga," 2021, Mark Thomas Gibson, "Last Gasp," 2021, Ellen
Harvey, "The Disappointed Tourist: Black Wall Street," 2021, Deborah Kass, "Print
with Balls," 2021, Hew Locke, "Corona Queen 3," 2021, and Narsiso Martinez, "Good
Farms," 2021. Photography by Will Lytch.
This acquisition reinforces the reputation of USF’s Graphicstudio as a leader in the world of fine art printmaking and underscores its reputation as a collaborator with renowned artists from around the globe, creating works that challenge, inspire and provoke.
Learn more about USF’s Graphicstudio and its contributions to contemporary art by visiting Graphicstudio’s website or following them on Facebook and Instagram.