Wind Challenge, Opening December 3rd

::Marianne Dages, Veil (detail), letterpress print on okawara paper, 2015 ::

If you are near or around Philadelphia, I am very honored and excited to be taking part in the Wind Challenge Exhibition series. I will be debuting a series of printed and drawn work.

"Established in 1978, the Wind Challenge Exhibition Series is an annual juried competition that is committed to enriching and expanding people’s lives through art. Three Wind Challenge Exhibitions are held from September through May, featuring the work of exceptional artists living in the Philadelphia region."

Challenge 2: Jacintha Clark, Marianne Dages, and Nichola Kinch

December 4-January 30

Opening Reception is December, 3rd from 6-8

Fleisher Art Memorial
719 Catharine Street
Philadelphia

I hope you can join us!

::Marianne Dages, Ka (detail), letterpress print on okawara paper, 2015 ::

Pagus, 12 x 12, and Pluto

This summer/fall, I participated in two portfolio exchanges, 12 x 12 and a Pluto Print Exchange. I also have new work on in an exhibition at Pagus Gallery in Norristown. 

First, the new installation, Future Ritual is included in the exhibition PRESS PLAY at Pagus Gallery. This exhibition includes print-based works by artists Marc Blumthal, Sarah Bourne Rafferty, Marianne Dages, Michael Kowbuz, Lauren Pakradooni, and Stacy Rosende. 

:: Marianne Dages, detail of the installation Future Ritual, 2015 ::

The exhibition, curated by Lisa Sylvester, looks at the varied ways in which contemporary artists work in printmaking, and at how play and experimentation with process and materials shape meaning and provoke new questions for the artist to grapple with.

Pagus Gallery 

October 1st – November 13th 2015
619 W. Washington St.
Norristown, PA 19401

12 x 12, curated by Trevor Powers, is an artists' book/zine swap including the work of six Massachusetts and six regional/national artists that considered the number twelve in one way or another.I contributed An End, an eight page folded letterpress book that considers references time and endings. The 12th hour.

The text reads, She is the color of black burning fire and of things which have come to an end.

The image used over and over in the book is of a mirror in the process of shattering.

:: 12 x 12 box ::

:: Bottom Center, Marianne Dages, An End, 3.875” x 6.25”, 8 pages ::

The other exchange was print based, and the theme of the exchange, the planet Pluto. For this a wrote a text titled Preparation Ceremony using the Orphic Hymn to Pluto as source of ideation. The text has a futuristic tone to it, and it written like a letter from one entity to another...

My dear receiver,
It is later in life
I have accessed a powerful sequence
where the end is not a color
It makes me feel humble and chthonic
I am heavy with knowledge
like fruit
I am so secure...

The print is a 3-color letterpress monoprint and text. 

:: Marianne Dages, Preparation Ceremony, Letterpress on paper, 9" x 9", 2015 ::

Marianne Dages. Works. Mainly Printed.

Marianne Dages. Works. Mainly Printed. A solo exhibition of prints, books and drawings at print gallery in Toyko, Japan, ran from July 11 - August 9, 2015. To print gallery tokyo...my most sincere and thanks. For this opportunity, designing this beautiful exhibition, for everything.

 

Recent Ideas

Work from this summer. 

:: Counter, paper, xerox transfer, linen, found images, 2015 ::

:: all its possibilities, xerox print, 2015 ::

:: 1 am you 13 times, handmade paper and ink, 2015 ::

:: Instruction, letterpress, xerox print, paper, linen, 2015 ::

:: Album, xerox transfer, letterpress, paper, linen, 2015 ::

Shane Darwent: Southside All Stars

This month I am curating a solo exhibition of work by Shane Darwent at Napoleon Gallery. Shane and I met at Penland School of Crafts, we were both in the core fellowship program and were roommates. We collaborated on a series together titled Five a few years ago. In the last couple of years, I've been following his work with great interest, watching him combine the mediums of photography and sculpture in new ways. It's been a pleasure working with him to put this show together. Rachel White wrote an excellent essay for the exhibition, which you can read here.

The exhibition opens this Friday from 6-10pm (more info below). We hope to see you there!

Southside All Stars

A SOLO-EXHIBITION BY SHANE DARWENT, CURATED BY NAPOLEON MEMBER MARIANNE DAGES

In Southside All Stars, litter-dappled grass becomes a painterly celebration of grotesque beauty. Colorful, plastic still-lives are like empty sets, ripe with possible narratives. Darwent draws inspiration from the semi-urban landscape of his Chattanooga neighborhood and presents photographs and sculptures that encourage us to contemplate the role of material culture in our lives and in the lives of a community at the edge of opportunity. 

Opening Reception
First Friday, August 7th
6pm – 10pm

NAPOLEON
319 N 11th Street, 2L
Philadelphia, PA

Exhibition Dates: 8.7.2015 – 8.28.2015
Galllery Hours: Saturdays and Sundays 2pm – 6pm or by appointment

www.shanedarwent.com

Haystack, Maine

I just got back from two weeks in Maine at Haystack Mountain School of Crafts. I took a class taught by Rachel Meginnes, Triple Knot: Stitching, Writing, and Conversation. It was incredibly interesting to work outside my usual medium. Although while working with thread and cloth, I did manage to turn paper into "cloth" through the technique of shifu, a spun paper thread. It was a wonderful class, full of interesting conversations and new ideas. 

And next Friday, I am driving down to Penland School of Crafts to assist Jana Harper's class The What & the Why: Books as Idea Generators...

:: branch weaving ::

:: paper weaving ::

:: lichen hanging on a lichen thread ::

:: little experiments I made in the class ::

:: Penobscot Bay ::

:: halftone colors ::

:: pink lichen ::

Website Updated, & More News

:: Marianne Dages, Cloud Copy, transfer paper, paper clay, letterpress, 2015 ::

I recently updated my website, to reflect some of the work I've done in the last six months. There is lots of new work, new arrangements, new prints, and two new editions, A Single Frequency and Poems for Passing Ships. 

I am also working on a new book, as yet untitled, involving mirrors and text.

:: New book ! ::

Back in January, I was interviewed for a segment about the art of the book for the WHYY program Articulate with Jim Cotter. 

The segment which includes footage of my process and work, will air two more times.

- Thursday, 7/30 at 10:30 pm
- Sunday, 8/7 at 1 pm.

:: Clip with Articulate with Jim Cotter ::

If you don't have WHYY, you can still watch the full episode HERE, just the segment on books as art HERE and an interview extra with me about the value of art HERE.

This July, I will be assisting a Jana Harper's class, The What & the Why: Books as Idea Generators this summer at Penland School of Crafts. 

 :: Books by Jana Harper ::

The class runs July 5th - the 17th, there may even be a spot or two left, check HERE if you're interested in enrolling. I'm really looking forward to this, Jana is an amazing artist, this is going to be a fascinating class, the kind that will supply you with ideas for years to come.

And last but not least, if you missed the Summer Newsletter, with upcoming exhibitions and publications, you can read it HERE and sign up HERE to receive future ones every couple of months.  

Recent Work

Alaska Journal

I've been on a bookbinding roll lately, trying to refine my hardcover binding technique and find the best possible way to refill old books. My goal is to make attractive, durable bindings that do not obscure the books original endpapers. 

This book is one I've had for several years, I bought it at a thrift store. In fact, it's appeared on this blog before. It's a National Geographic Collection of articles about Alaska. I read the book cover to cover (I am fascinated by cold, remote places) and kept it because I thought the cover design was lovely. 

The best part is that I was able to remove the library card from the discarded portion of the book and place it onto the back endsheet, a nice detail I thought. 

:: Alaska, cover :: 

:: Front inside, with original endsheets, new matching cloth hinge, and a new text block ::

 :: The book's original library card, salvaged and reattached ::

Other Selections at The Center for Art in Wood

I will be showing new work in Other Selections: Local Artists Respond to The Museum Collection, at The Center for Art in Wood. The show will be up May 1st - July 18th. Tomorrow, Friday May 1st will be the First Friday opening event, from 5-8. This promises to be an incredible show, with diverse work from 19 Philadelphia Artists. I hope to see you there.

Artists: Jaime Alvarez, Todd Baldwin, Timothy Belknap, Marc Blumthal, Mark Brosseau, Lewis Colburn, Patrick Coughlin, Marianne Dages, Christina P. Day, Leslie Friedman, Jason Gandy, James Johnson, Ryan McCartney, Alexis Nutini, Joanna Platt, Terri Saulin Frock, H. John Thompson, and Tamsen Wojtanowski

:: A part of Reading Variations, letterpress print on paper and vellum, 2015, Marianne Dages ::

Preparing for the Philadelphia Art Book Fair

:: a display portfolio for prints ::

I've been working long days and evenings getting ready for the Philadelphia Art Book Fair. All the little details for display, like pricing, packaging, etc. always take longer than I think they will, but it's starting to come together.

Mark Cohen will be speaking on Friday. He's one of my favorite artists. Seriously, you have to be pretty important to me and my practice to have made this little list below. There's some pretty heavy hitting programming scheduled, I suggest you take a look.

:: sketchbook drawings and list of influences ::

Studio Thoughts