Experimental Ground: Modernist Printmaking in Paris & New York at Atelier 17 is the first large-scale survey of original prints made at Atelier 17 to be held in the United States in 50 years.
Atelier 17 (1927 – 1988) was a revolutionary printmaking workshop famous for its impact on the development of modern art. It served as a hub of artistic and intellectual exchange—first for Surrealists in interwar Paris, and after World War II for the exploration of abstraction and other modernist styles.
Founded by English artist Stanley William Hayter (1901–1988), this studio attracted hundreds of international artists drawn to Hayter’s radical vision of printmaking as a mode for experimentation rather than reproduction. Artists at Atelier 17 employed a range of intaglio print methods, including engraving, drypoint, and etching. The prints in the exhibition also showcase some of the techniques that artists developed at the studio, including: softground etching for transferring textures; printing in plaster to proof prints without the press; and simultaneous color printing. These advancements reveal how artists broke new ground in graphic media at the studio and often crossed into other disciplines.
Experimental Ground presents works by notable artists who gained formative skills at Atelier 17 such as Joan Miró, Yves Tanguy, Louise Bourgeois, Franz Kline, Jackson Pollock, Louise Nevelson, and Krishna Reddy, among many other less-well-known artists who participated in intense collaborations at the studio. Approximately half of the artists featured are women whose contributions were critical to the studio’s technical innovation and community from its earliest days.
This exhibition commemorates 100 years since the founding of Atelier 17 and celebrates the impactful legacy and creative scope of this groundbreaking printmaking studio.
ITINERARY
Contact Information
For booking information, contact Marcie Kaufman at mkaufman@amfedarts.org
Curators
Ann Shafer is an independent curator, art historian, podcaster, and a leading expert on intaglio printmaking by Stanley William Hayter and Atelier 17. Shafer served as Associate Curator of Prints, Drawings, and Photographs at the Baltimore Museum of Art and has held positions at the Whitney Museum of American Art and the National Gallery of Art. Shafer earned a BA from The College of Wooster and an MA from Williams College.
Christina Weyl is a New York-based curator and art historian with expertise on twentieth-century American printmaking and women artists. Her book, The Women of Atelier 17: Modernist Printmaking in Midcentury New York (Yale University Press, 2019) highlights the nearly 100 women artists who advanced modernism and feminism at Atelier 17. She received her BA from Georgetown University (2005) and completed her MA and PhD in Art History at Rutgers University (2012; 2015).
Credit
Experimental Ground: Modernist Printmaking in Paris & New York at Atelier 17 is organized by the American Federation of Arts. This exhibition is curated by Ann Shafer and Christina Weyl. Support for this exhibition has been provided by Judith Tobin & Jeffrey Lindemuth and Rebecca Redett.