Show opens Oct. 7

– In conjunction with Central Coast Printmakers, the San Luis Obispo Museum of Art presents Pressing Matters, a juried print exhibition open to artists in California, Oregon, and Washington. The art will be on view in the Gray Wing from Oct. 7 – Nov. 13.

This juried exhibition showcases the twin disciplines of fine art original prints and artists’ books. Artists were challenged to utilize traditional printmaking processes to comment on contemporary issues. This compelling amalgamation invites viewers to witness how artists convey substantial social topics. Using serigraphy, letterpress, collagraphy, etching, woodcut, lithography, linocut, drypoint, mezzotint, monoprint, and solar plates, these works are both beautiful and significant.

Central Coast Printmakers will award a total of $1,500 in cash prizes. Both disciplines will receive a Juror’s Award of $500 and two Honorable Mention Awards of $125 will be selected.

This year’s exhibition juror, Archana Horsting is the Co-Founder and Executive Director of KALA Art Institute and Gallery in Berkeley, California. Archana Horsting studied at UC Davis and UC Santa Cruz and spent many years abroad. She attended the University of Padua as well as the Venice Art Academy in Italy. After graduating, she worked as an apprentice to a sculptor in Italy and studied at Atelier 17, a workshop in Paris started by Stanley William Hayter, where she focused on printmaking.

A members-only juror talk will take place at 5 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 7, followed by a public reception and awards ceremony with the artists from 6–9 pm in conjunction with Art After Dark.

The San Luis Obispo Museum of Art, dedicated to the education, presentation and preservation of the visual arts on the Central Coast, is located at 1010 Broad Street, on the west end of Mission Plaza. Free admission, donations appreciated. For more info visit SLOMA.org.