THOMASIAN artists called for the revival of printmaking in “By Hand: Rediscovering the Art of Printmaking,” an exhibit that opened at the De La Salle-College of Saint Benilde last Feb. 20.
Thomasian architect Gerry Torres, curator of the exhibit, selected prints from the studios of Cicada Press of the University of New South Wales in Sydney Australia, Chiang Mai Art on Paper of Chiang Mai, Thailand and the Association of Pinoyprintmakers (A/P) of Manila.
Torres, who earned his bachelor’s degree in architecture from UST in 1984, organized the exhibit to promote printmaking and prevent its demise.
“[Printmaking] is a dying art because of the lack of practitioners in schools. [I] hope in this exhibit there will be more appreciation, awareness and propagation of the practice,” Torres told the Varsitarian in an interview.
The works in the exhibit revolved around the themes of land, sea, and “the exchange of ideas, representing the beginnings of printmaking in Europe during the Age of Exploration.
“Prints were used to illustrate new lands, peoples, and cultures,” Torres said.
For A/P President Benjie Torrado-Cabrera, the public is still unaware of the process of printmaking.
“[The exhibit] is part of a continuing process of sharing amongst the public the art of printmaking,” he said.
An alumnus of the old UST College of Architecture and Fine Arts, Cabrera demonstrated the cycle of birth and decay using the relief burin engraving technique in his 2015 monotype print with watercolor, “Malay Connection.”
A burin is a steel-cutting tool, an essential tool for engraving.
Advertising arts alumnus Mars Bugaoan noted that printmaking is an unpopular, more traditional medium that requires discipline.
“The process of getting these images should serve as inspiration for younger audiences to go back to traditional techniques,” he said. “Their grounding as an artist and visual communicator can evolve if they understand printmaking.”
Bugaoan’s works, “Wander/Wonder XIX” and “Wander/Wonder XX,” are monotype prints made from a matrix of heated plastic bags, a technique he is known for. The monotypes were from his previous solo exhibition titled “Wander” in Bacolod in 2016.
Other alumni and members of A/P featured in the exhibit were Raul Isidro, Janos de la Cruz, Fil de la Cruz and Ambie Abaño.
“By Hand” runs until April 14.
