Infinite Gestures: A Printmaking Exploration of Visual Evolution
Coolidge Corner Library
March 1 - April 30, 2023

Local artist Joshua Brennan explores the idea of expansion and self-reference through printmaking. Beginning with a hand-made image, he experiments with different iterations, both digitally and on paper. The resulting prints reflect the ebb and flow of the creative process, celebrate the growth cycle through experimentation and transformation, and explore the possibilities of printmaking and gestural abstraction.

Project B Gallery, The Mill Contemporary Art, Framingham, MA

patchWORK: Parts of Prints and Prints of Parts
This show highlights the segmentation of the print process as well as the concentration of print imagery on sections or segments of more expansive narratives.

Printmakers utilize a matrix — a copper etching plate, a carved woodblock, a stenciled screen — to construct their images. Often, they explore alternative uses of the matrix such as image repetition, overprinting, jigsaw cutting, multi-media, and collage layering to excite inventive new solutions to visual problems.

Conversely, many printmakers hone into small details of a larger picture to elicit glimpses or hints of grander worlds. Sometimes working in suites of prints or series of generative studies, the artists create individual images that serve as microcosms of the bigger picture, quietly accumulating to provide a multitude of reflections that ultimately coalesce into a unified vision. Exhibiting Artists:Josh Brennan, Liz Chalfin, Christiane Corcelle, Marc Cote, Renee Covalucci, Diane Francis, Stacy Friedman, Kelsey Miller

Image: Posting Error (1A), 2021, Four-color Risograph on Rives Lightweight Paper, 6" x 4"

CONNECT is an exhibition prompted by the theme of “communication” whereby artists create small prints with a variety of “messaging,” “news,” or whatever they want to “post.” People around the world have been plunged into communicating through technology. Internet and cellphone communication have become lifelines to staying connected to family and friends and gathering for momentous occasions. This traveling show by Boston Printmakers presents the best in contemporary, traditional, and experimental printmaking, from members across North America. This collection of prints will capture the creativity of artists and document a global spirit of togetherness through communication. This small print show was developed in partnership with the venerable Providence Art Club of Rhode Island for spring 2021 and will be traveling to celebrate our 75th anniversary through 2023.

PHOTO GALLERY: CONNECT

RISOGRAPH: PRINTING FROM A CPU (MF9450)

I just couldn't find a good enough tutorial online, so I made my own! This video covers the process of sending a "4-color process" print from Adobe Photoshop to a Risograph MF9450 Digital Duplicator. Printed in Medium Blue, Bright Red, Yellow, and Black.

MakeReady SGCI Virtual Conference April 2021

The Print Hacking Primer is a video that shows various tools that can be made by hand from common materials that aid the “at-home print studio” for relief and intaglio processes, from image-making to printing. For some, pulling an impression beyond the walls of the studio can feel too forbidding to even attempt. I myself felt this way for a long time. Due to teaching a printmaking course during the pandemic, it was of paramount importance to make the material more accessible, and most importantly – affordable. After a year of research, I am now ready to share my findings. Most of the content is simple and yet to a novice, not immediately obvious. The creative problem-solving that goes into finding these solutions takes the understanding of a veteran practitioner. Between teaching and managing a print studio, I know exactly what is being compromised in this primer, but the need to find an alternative experience is necessary. The video covers the following (and more):
Handmade Tools: Lighter roulette, Scratching tools (paper clips, nails/screws), Wire Burin (eraser style), Wire brushes, “Bread Lame” style knife, and Bottom of Plate/Leather Belt (sharpening tools). Repurposed Substrates: Tetra pack, Plastic from anything, Aluminum from soda cans, Thick/glossy paper stock, Mat-board/Cardboard, Sintra or Gatorboard (sign-making materials), and Thick plastics (Pond liner, etc). Printing Methods: Rolling Pin vs. Akua Pin Press, DIY Barens (Bottle toppers, Lightbulbs), Spoons, Massage tools (Roller Ball, Thumb Tool), and Casters.

Prints from Campus: Selections from Faculty Teaching in New England
In conjunction with the North American Print Biennial and the 11th Boston Printmakers Student Print Exhibition, the Danforth Art Museum is excited to host an exhibition of work by printmaking faculty across New England. Founded in 1947, the mission of the Boston Printmakers is to promote public knowledge of printmaking, encourage and support artists working in printmaking, and promote excellence and innovation within the field of printmaking. "Prints From Campus" will be on view at the Danforth from October 26 - December 15.

Above: Two prints made by workshop students. Oil-based water soluble ink on mulberry paper, 10"x8" each

June 3rd, 2021 - Raw Arts in Lynn, MA

RAW Art Works hosted an engaging workshop called "Portable Trace Monotype Print Kits and Self-Portraits" for aspiring college-level art students. The workshop involved a mix of hand-drawn images, smartphone apps, photography, and the trace monotype printmaking technique. Josh Brennan and Marc Schepens, the workshop instructors, visited the Lynne, MA location for this hands-on art-making activity. The workshop started with an informative discussion about the technique's history, followed by a fun technical demonstration. Throughout the workshop, students created several impressive fine art impressions, and as a parting gift, they received a portable kit of printmaking materials to continue the experimentation.

THE BOSTON PRINTMAKERS 2019 NORTH AMERICAN PRINT BIENNIAL
Joshua's piece, Sweat Test, was selected to be included in the 2019 exhibition by Shelley R. Langdale, Park Family Associate Curator of Prints and Drawings at the Philadelphia Museum of Art and President of the Print Council of America. The Boston Printmakers received 1,701 entries from which 111 works were accepted for the exhibition.

Photo Gallery of the 2019 Biennial
Catalog of the exhibition

BIG INK at the Morean Arts Center
719 Central Ave, St. Petersburg, FL 33701
September 26-29, 2019

In conjunction with BIG INK’s workshop on September 28-29, the Morean is hosting an exhibition of large scale woodblock prints from the BIG INK archive.

RAW Art Works Printmaking Workshop at Boston University
2019

“Out of the Shadows” was a 2-part opportunity for art-driven teens from RAW Art Works who are interested in college-level art. This workshop combined hand-drawn imagery, collage, photography, and pronto plate lithography. Beginning with the elements of portraiture and collage, we explored ways in which artists of the 20th and 21st centuries have investigated the nature of identity and imaging identity. Inspired by these historical and contemporary precedents, we used process, color and risk-taking to make self-portraits. RAW students and faculty then visited the Print Studio at Boston University to work with Josh Brennan, alongside Marc Schepens. After a talk on the history of printmaking and a technical demonstration, students made countless fine art impressions from the materials they prepared.

The Boston University team "The Levigators" take First Place and take also take home the Golden Glove of Cleanliness at the 7th Annual Iron Printmaker Competition!
MassArt College Print Studio, Boston, MA
2019

Group Show: Open to Interpretation
The Dorothy and Charles Mosesian Center for the Arts, Watertown, MA
www.mosesianarts.org/index.php/exhibiti…

Smoking While Biking (pictured above) will be on view from Nov. 9th - Jan. 12th, 2018.

RAW Art Works Printmaking Workshop at Boston University
Part I: 3/1/2018 and Part II: 3/10/2018

“Elements and Alchemy” was a 2-part workshop combining hand-drawn images, collage, the found and the readymade, and pronto plate lithography. Beginning with the elements of portraiture, pattern, and text, students from RAW Art Works explored the alchemical possibilities of image-making through process, color translation and collaboration. Marc Schepens Lecturer in Art, Painting, at Boston University visited RAW and worked with students to produce matrices in portrait, pattern and text-based imagery. For inspiration and contextualization, students viewed the work of Durer, Rauschenberg, Hockney, Mickalane Thomas, Tshchabalala Self, Nina Chanel Abney, and others. RAW students and faculty then visited the Print Studio at Boston University to work with Josh Brennan, alongside Marc Schepens. After a talk on the history of printmaking and a technical demonstration, students made countless fine art impressions from the materials they prepared.

Group Show: 3rd New York International Miniature Print Exhibition
Manhattan Graphics Center, New York, NY

www.manhattangraphicscenter.org/mini-pr…

Joshua received a PURCHASE AWARD for his mini print Wall as Window Fragment No.10, pictured above! Two additional lasergravure woodcuts (Corner Heap, Somerville and Two Muses No. 5 (Sun on the Couch) were also included in the exhibition.

Unveiled: Drawing Project
HallSpace Gallery, Dorchester, MA

www.hallspace.org/

Two mixed media print/drawings, "Names of them All" and "Rings Hollow" (pictured above) will be on view from September 2th – October 7th, 2017.

Listen to the artist talk about his experience teaching printmaking to the Master of Arts in Art Education Summer Studios students at Boston University College of Fine Arts's

The BU Levigatoes took Second Place at the 6th Annual Iron Printmaker Competition
2018

Visiting Artist: Lecture and Workshop
2017 Westford Academy, Westford MA

Prints featured above were made during the "Incidental Beauty" workshop. Students printed their linocut blocks in various colors on top of Joshua's inkjet photographs while exploring incidental beauty and chance-based abstraction.

Joshua made this video of Artist Diane Victor working in the Boston University Print Studio on March, 30 2017. Diane gave students and faculty a demonstration of her smoke drawing technique. A truly captivating process to witness, it is rooted in both drawing and printmaking techniques. Click here for the video!

Big Ink – Cuddle Pile – Available for sale
2017

Joshua participated in a large scale woodblock printing event with BIG INK at Shepard Studios in Boston. This organized network of creative thinkers focused on carving, printing, and promoting large scale woodcuts.

Group Show: Boston University Arts Initiative Silber Way Exhibition
SIlber Way Building, Boston University

"Old Friend," a mixed media painting, will be on view from July 1st, 2017 – May 1st, 2018 as part of the Silber Way Exhibition.

In Residence

In Residence is an effort created in reaction to today’s political and social climate. In Residence exists as an online store featuring works of art, the profit of which is donated to a charity or organization of the artist’s choice. This initiative serves as a method of activism to empower both the artist and the consumer. Through the model of In Residence, the artist has the opportunity to highlight and donate to an important cause, while the consumer can both support a cause in need and acquire an artwork that will forever serve as a reminder of lifelong activism. All artistic works involved in this project strive to share the personal experiences of the artist and promote art as a catalyst for change. The administrators of this project are Rebecca Ness and Sophia Richardson.

2017 Atlanta Print Biennial

Joshua Brennan’s hand-carved and laser-engraved woodblock print, “Post-Merger: Copenhagen Reduction” was selected for inclusion in the 2017 Atlanta Print Biennial. 73 prints were chosen from 787 entries. This exhibition is organized by the Atlanta Printmakers Studio and will be on display at Kai Lin Art, a contemporary art gallery located in the vibrant Westside District of Midtown Atlanta. The Biennial was juried by 2017 SGC International Printmaker Emeritus Awardee Sydney Cross.

www.kailinart.com/atlanta-print-biennia…
Press Release
Atlanta Printmakers Studio
Kai Lin Art

Solo Exhibition Sample the Remix
The Robert F. DeCaprio Art Gallery
Moraine Valley Community College, Palos Hills, IL
February 6th - March 7th, 2017
Reception: Monday, Feb. 6, 2:30-4 p.m. / Artist Talk at 3 p.m.
Exhibition Slideshow
Show Announcment

Paintings from the Remixes and Samples series were made using post-consumer waste as both a mark-making material and a surface to develop imagery on. Canvas-like fragments were cut from large large-scale inkjet vinyl billboards and “mis-tint paints,” which are pre-mixed colors rejected by picky homeowners, were used to execute the painterly additions. These paintings are not framed or stretched on traditional wooden supports. Instead, they are mounted directly to the gallery walls with gold plated staples that puncture the top margins of the pictorial space. Left to hang under their own weight, they eventually sag. This presentation enhances the heavy-walled vinyl characteristics; imperfect borders, tears, and folds become more pronounced. The presence of gold-plated staples brings a highbrow quality to the fairly lowbrow materials.

The printed imagery (in this case, a “work from home” ad) is embraced, like a stage to perform on and react against. Viewed at a distance, different marks – printed pixels and painterly – vibrato synch up. Upon closer examination, the two surfaces retain their distinct qualities. There is a Hoffmanesque “push and pull” – except it is between digital and analog layers of information. Partly a dream of modernism, but also a partially defaced or vandalized appropriation – these hybrid objects no longer communicate a coherent message. They are now spaces to ponder the past, present, and future.

Webster Art Project
Joshua Brennan's painting, "For an Administration Somewhere," is on display at Webster & Company located in the Boston Design Center and is included in the Webster Art Project.

Click here for a time-lapse video of the event!
This time-lapse video captures the event on the ground and a cool top-down view from the heights of the Davis Museum! Joshua received a Visiting Artist Honorarium from Wellesley College for his participation in this event.

Locavore installation shown at 808 Gallery in Boston
The 2015 School of Visual Arts Faculty Exhibition presents the work of over 30 artists who currently teach at the university in the areas of painting, sculpture, graphic design, art education, printmaking, and photography. The exhibition features a wide range of visual practices, spanning all genres and media. The exhibition is held as part of CFA’s 60th-anniversary programming. January 30–March 1, 2015.

808 Gallery – Boston, MA

Alternative Printmaking Event Allowed Students To Explore Large Format Printing, Collaboration

ARTSCOPE MAGAZINE CENTERFOLD WINNER
Joshua won the Artscope 46, September/October 2013 centerfold competition for Forced Pano Error No. 15.

Artscope Magazine New England's Culture Magazine

Digital Luminaries: Portfolio Exhibition
41st Annual SGC International Conference – Print:MKE
University of Wisconsin PSOA Kenilworth Square East, Milwaukee, WI
Curators: Deborah Cornell and Joshua Brennan

As printmaking transforms and absorbs new elements of form and expression, new communities with like interests form within the vibrant contemporary print community. Digital expressions now permeate the field and are used within and among our respected traditional forms. “Making” in the digital print media requires artists continually to shift between the lighted screen and the printed page. Digital expressions constitute a specific vernacular within the language of printmaking as the digital print idiom combines pigment with images in light, images that embody immateriality and a transformation of form. In keeping with the idea of illumination, the works in this portfolio will hover between pigment and light. Printed on transparency film, they will be exhibited suspended in the open. Many print artists – “digital luminaries” – have developed and expanded our understanding of the making of these new means for printmaking, and new artists are appearing to extend these efforts. This portfolio seeks to focus and enlarge the community of digital print artists by presenting the works of established artists (for whom digital means are central to their work in print) along with artists who are now defining or redefining their concept of medium, using the potential of digital process to expand - and sometimes define - their visual content.

Conference Program

Artist Assistant for Ibrahim Miranda
Printmaking workshop sponsored by The Boston Printmakers
Boston University, School of Visual Arts, Boston, MA
2013

The workshop theme was Transformation/Flight, and Miranda worked with students in relief printing techniques he developed in Havana – and incorporated mixed media, hand-coloring, printing on fabric. The 15 student prints were mounted for an exhibition and assembled into portfolios for each of the participating schools, including MassArt, Boston University, School of the Museum of Fine Art and Lesley University.

Edition Printer and Artist Assistant – Colbert Mashile
Boston University Print Project in conjunction with World Aids Day Boston, MA

Artist Colbert Mashile made two new editioned linocut prints that draw upon his deep connection to rural life in South Africa. Utilizing black and white qualities of linoleum printing, Mashile imagery tells dramatic stories of the human condition currently facing South Africa. These prints, including one with hand color additions in watercolor, were auctioned off for charity as part of Boston Universities World Aids Day Event. Mashile was a visiting artist during his time preparing for a solo exhibition at Sherman Gallery, titled Colbert Mashile: Not Yet

Artist Assistant – Enrique Chagoya
Boston University Print Project. Boston, MA
2011 and 2012

Contemporary Perspectives Lecture: Enrique Chagoya V
Drawing from his experiences living in Mexico and the U.S., Enrique Chagoya juxtaposes secular, popular, and religious symbols through his painting, drawing, and printmaking to address the ongoing cultural clashes in the world. Professor Chagoya heads the painting program at Stanford University, and has work in the collections of major museums throughout the country, and has been shown nationally and internationally.

In addition to this public lecture, Chagoya will also participate in critiques of student work and will create a small suite of prints based on Goya’s The Disasters of War in BU’s printmaking studios during his brief residency at the BU School of Visual Arts.

Artist Assistant – Sister Sheila Flynn
2012

While studying at the Scuola Internazionale di Grafica, Joshua printed a 2-color, oil-based silkscreen poster for Tobias Putrih's VENETIAN, ATMOSPHERIC, which represented the Slovenian Pavilion at the 2007 Venice Biennale.

Joshua was an Assistant Curator for the University of Wisconsin-Parkside National Small Print Exhibition from 2001-2005. An image of Joshua wiping a collagraph plate was also featured on the catalog cover for the 2005 exhibition.

Founded in 1987 by Doug DeVinny, Professor Emeritus of Printmaking at the University of Wisconsin-Parkside, the Parkside National Small Print Exhibition has regularly exhibited small-format original prints from artists nationwide for three decades. One of the longest-running shows of its kind in the Midwest, the exhibition began as an annual exhibition in the Communication Arts Gallery (now the Mathis Gallery) before moving to a biennial exhibition format in the Fine Arts Gallery of the newly-built Rita Tallent Picken Regional Center for Arts and Humanities in 2013.
Catalogs from 1987-2003
Catalogs from 2005-2015