Catherine Chauvin, Tamarind trained master printer and Head of Printmaking at the University of Denver, will display “Contemporary Landscapes” at the Memorial Union Gallery June 5 through July 2. An artist's reception and lecture are set for Tuesday, June 8. The reception will be from noon to 1 p.m. in the gallery and the lecture from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Renaissance Hall, room 114.
The exhibit will feature about 20 prints and drawings relating to trees that have either been cut down or modified.
“My newest work has been centered on larger ideas of loss and the fact that nature is fighting battles that we are not a part of – battles where our participation is not part of the equation, only our reactions after things have been set in motion,” Chauvin said. “Fields of stumps have been meticulously drawn and redrawn and committed to print in my work. The culprit in these images is not people – it is pine bark beetles. People are reacting, cutting trees to protect property from forest fires and the further spread of this infestation, which is changing mountain landscapes drastically. Obviously, I’m not a scientist, but an artist who hopes to use a visual forum to address concerns in a visual way.”
Chauvin also will present a Summer Printmaking Workshop "Lithography: 24/7” in Fargo from June 7-18. The NDSU Visual Arts/PEARS “Visiting Artist Program” will sponsor the workshop and will explore the idea of “messages” through stone and polyester-plate lithography plus trace monotype.