CONTEMPORARY PRINTS FROM THE COLLECTIONS OF JORDAN D. SCHNITZER
AND HIS FAMILY FOUNDATION
NEW: Contemporary Curator Karin Campbell Talks About Contemporary Art and Experiencing the Under Pressure Exhibition at Joslyn
What's Pictured: (Below) Richard Estes (American, b. 1936), Qualicraft Shoes/The Chinese Lady, 1974, edition 63/100, serigraph, Collection of Jordan D. Schnitzer
Support for the exhibition and related educational and outreach programs has been made possible by a grant from the Jordan Schnitzer Family Foundation.
PRESENTING SPONSOR
Major Sponsors
Joan Gibson and Donald Wurster
Douglas County
Supporting Sponsor
Additional support provided by
Until the 1940s, most American artists viewed prints as an inferior medium, practiced by those who were concerned solely with the technical aspect of making art rather than with the importance of creative expression. Yet over the next two decades, bolstered by the adventurous spirit of experimentation championed by artists such as Jasper Johns, Robert Rauschenberg, and Helen Frankenthaler, printmaking became one of the most dynamic fields in contemporary art. During the 1950s and 1960s independent print workshops, such ULAE (United Limited Art Editions) on Long Island and Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited) in Los Angeles, started opening their doors. Staffed with highly-skilled technicians, these studios supplied artists with the equipment, space, and expertise they needed to push the limits of printmaking. Welcoming the opportunity to expand their practices, artists transformed print workshops into laboratories where media and techniques intertwined and a new visual language emerged.
Reflecting on the process of printmaking, Jasper Johns once commented: “The process of printmaking allows you to do things that make your mind work in a different way than, say, painting with a brush does…things which are necessary to printmaking become interesting in themselves and can be used in painting where they’re not necessary but become like ideas.” Recognizing that prints are a natural extension of their existing practices, many of the artists featured in
Under Pressure who are still making work today have followed Johns’ lead in moving fluidly among media.
Jordan Schnitzer’s expansive collection includes prints from the 1960s to the twenty-first century. Featured artists include Radcliffe Bailey, John Baldessari, Jennifer Bartlett, Robert Bechtle, Mark Bennett, Vija Celmins, Enrique Chagoya, Chuck Close, Richard Diebenkorn, Richard Estes, Joe Feddersen, Eric Fischl, Helen Frankenthaler, Ellen Gallagher, Red Grooms, Damien Hirst, Robert Indiana, Jasper Johns, Donald Judd, Alex Katz, Barbara Kruger, Sol LeWitt, Roy Lichtenstein, Hung Liu, Brice Marden, Kerry James Marshall, Sarah Morris, Judy Pfaff, Martin Puryear, Robert Rauschenberg, Edward Ruscha, Richard Serra, Roger Shimomura, Lorna Simpson, Kiki Smith, Donald Sultan, Fred Tomaselli, Kara Walker, and Terry Winters.
For a pdf of the
Under Pressure gallery guide,
click here.
To read about Joslyn exhibition highlights,
click here.
Mobile Tour
Special thanks to 91.5 KIOS FM: Omaha Public Radio.
Visitors may use their own mobile device (cell phone, SmartPhone, or iPod Touch) to enhance their experience of
Under Pressure. There is no extra Joslyn charge
(regular phone rates apply) to access the
Under Pressure mobile tour (available in both English and Spanish). A limited number of iPods with earphones will be available through the Scott EdTech Gallery for visitors without a mobile device (no extra charge; first come, first served; must leave a driver’s license to borrow iPod).
The tour may be listened to like a phone call, but earphones will make the experience more enjoyable (speaker mode is not allowed in the galleries). Visitors may bring their own or buy disposable sets for $2 in Joslyn’s Hitchcock Museum Shop.
Download the tour now or add the local dial-in number, (402) 881-3601, to your phone’s contacts. ¿Habla Español? Añade este numero de teléfono local (402) 972-4031 a tus contactos telefónicos.
About Jordan D. Schnitzer
The selection of work on view in
Under Pressure represents a small portion of Jordan Schnitzer’s rich and diverse collection of prints from the 1960s through the present — the largest private print collection in the United States. Schnitzer has collected many of the artists featured in the exhibition in-depth, including John Baldessari, Ed Ruscha, and Kiki Smith, reflecting his commitment to tracing their ongoing impact in the realm of contemporary prints.
Schnitzer is president of Oregon-based Harsch Investment Properties, a family business founded by his father, Harold J. Schnitzer, who passed away in 2011. His mother, Arlene, founded one of Portland’s first serious commercial galleries, the Fountain Gallery, and is the Portland Art Museum’s most important benefactor of the past two decades. With his mother’s encouragement, Schnitzer purchased the first of many thousands of prints in his collection at the age of fourteen. An active and generous philanthropist, Schnitzer has served prominently on many organization boards. In 2005, the University of Oregon renamed its art museum the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art in recognition of his years of leadership there.
Exhibition Events & Programs
On Friday, October 5, Joslyn members will enjoy a preview of the exhibition.
Click here to join Joslyn!
Public events:
- A free Family Fun Day on Sunday, October 14, from 1 to 4 pm, celebrates printmaking.
- Two gallery talks by Karin Campbell, Joslyn’s Phil Willson Curator of Contemporary Art, on Thursdays, October 18 and January 3, at 6:30 pm (cash bar at 5 pm). Free with regular Museum admission (discounted to $5 for all ages on Thursdays from 4-8 pm).
- The Art of Dance: Momentum and Under Pressure. Ballet Nebraska presents this mixed repertory performance that includes an exploration of contemporary art through choreography on Friday, October 19, at 8 pm andSunday, October 21, at 2 pm. Tickets: ticketomaha.com or (402) 345-0606.
- An exhibition-inspired gallery presentation —“Framing the Flame: Art That Ignites” — on Thursday, December 13, at 6:30 pm (cash bar at 5 pm). Brigitte McQueen, founder of The Union for Contemporary Art, and Adrian Duran and Wanda Ewing of the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) will each speak for ten minutes about a work in the exhibition that “lights their fire.” Representing three very different perspectives on contemporary printmaking, they will shed light on how art inspires, engages, and delights them and impacts their own work. Free with regular Museum admission (discounted to $5 for all ages on Thursdays from 4-8 pm).