2018 STEAMROLLER
WOODBLOCK EXHIBITION
ARTSPACE at Untitled’s annual Steamroller Print Fest is an epic event bringing the community together in the name of printmaking. The yearly one-day festival features the printing of large-scale woodblocks, carved by professional and collegiate artists, and high school students and teachers in the Mentorship Program. This year’s festival will see over 80 wood blocks printed to Tyvek with a 5-ton steamroller, which were carved by over 100 participating individual artists and groups.
Education Director Alexa Healey helping artist Van Lango print her woodblock
THE STEAMROLLER PRINT FEST INTRODUCES THE PUBLIC TO DIFFERENT PRINTING PROCESSES AND THEIR HISTORICAL RELEVANCE, AS WELL AS THEIR DIVERSE MODERN-DAY APPLICATIONS.
In tandem with the festival, ARTSPACE presents an exhibition of select large-scale carved woodblocks throughout the building’s gallery space, comprised of local and regional professional printmakers who responded to ARTSPACE’s open call for artists. The 16 accepted artists completed their carvings over a month prior to the exhibition. Artists were selected from their preliminary designs and previous wood block experiences submitted in online applications.
Rather than limiting this show to a theme, this year’s artists pushed their work into inimitable territories with diversified wood-carving designs and processes. Block sizes presented the only boundary for artists, due to ARTSPACE’s specific indoor printing presses. Some artists chose to push these size limits to the edge of their block, carving to the maximum size 4-by-8 feet.
ARTSPACE IS PROUD TO PROVIDE MANY DIFFERENT ARTISTIC PROCESSES AND DESIGNS UNDER THE PRINTMAKING MEDIUM THROUGHOUT OUR PRINT STUDIO AND ITS PROGRAMMING. THE VOLUME OF TALENT AND COLLABORATION IN OUR OKLAHOMA ART COMMUNITY INSPIRES US TO CONTINUE THIS SPECIAL EVENT ANNUALLY.
ARTSPACE is grateful to our committee members, volunteers, staff, board of directors, and sponsors who made this year’s festival and exhibition possible. We appreciate our community’s continued support and enthusiasm for the art of printmaking!
