Art Preview: Emerging Printmakers At Highpoint Center

By Coco Mault

Each year, Highpoint Center for Printmaking's Emerging Artists program, in conjunction with the Jerome Foundation, chooses three artists for its prestigious residency, and provides valuable guidance and support for the advancement of their skills in the art of printmaking. This year John Hunter, Justin Sehorn, and Rose Sexton were the recipients of the Jerome Residency grant, an eight-month long program that allowed them to focus on learning even more about their craft. The culmination of their residency was a group show held last week at the Highpoint Center's gallery.

The show was not only a major step for the artists, but a sign of success in the community. The Highpoint Center is the only community-oriented, non-profit facility of its kind in the upper Midwest, and this year marks 10 successful years upholding their mission to engage the community and increase the appreciation and understanding of printmaking in the arts.

Indeed, the three artists' works reflect the future of printmaking. Rose Sexton's large-scale prints feature brilliantly colored animals, many in some form of decay or dismemberment. Because of the multiple layers of colors she uses in her woodblock printmaking, some of her images look like they could be in 3D (with the right glasses).

According to Sexton, she and her fellow Jerome residents did not know each other before their residency at Highpoint.

"We got to know each other during the program, and it was interesting learning about each other's processes," she said.
 

Many of Justin Sehorn's prints also showcase hand-drawn elements. But his series entitled "Something's Happening," is a standout featuring five stunning black and red images.

His screenprints play with symbols and manipulations of their meanings.  Some of the imagery is violent (a bull aims its horns at a man in a chair) and some are either dreamy or nightmarish (a person-shaped figure reaches out with elongated limbs).

John Hunter's work is quite personal. His prints feature fictional transit maps with giant moths, butterflies, and larvae crowding into the frames. As an adopted Korean-American, and a recent tourist in Japan, these maps address the process of finding oneself.  He uses screenprints to integrate memories, dreams and symbols into his personal narrative.

The Jerome Emerging Printmakers exhibition is on view through July 2nd at Highpoint Center for the Arts (2638 Lyndale Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN; 612-871-1326). Gallery hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Saturday from Noon to 4 p.m., and by appointment.