MESH Opening Reception

In the Helen C. Frederick Gallery:
March 15 - April 28, 2024
Opening Reception Friday, March 15, 6-8 pm

From the brightly colored to the naturally muted, Mesh offers a wide range of art that celebrates the possibilities of screenprinting. Thirty-four works and the same number of artists are featured in this exhibition. Selected from nearly 300 submissions, included artworks showcase both conventional and unconventional applications of the art practice.

Mesh asked artists to consider the history of screenprinting, its technical contexts, and its diverse applications when submitting their work. The fine art of screenprinting has primitive antecedents as evidenced in the stenciled imagery on prehistoric cave walls. In modern times, artists such as Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein have used stencil material attached to or embedded in a mesh of fiber, metal, or synthetic plastic filaments. The process has been applied in decorative arts, textile printing, advertising posters, street and political art, among other areas. Today, screenprinting has a widespread current presence in commercial signage, t-shirts, ceramics, furniture, and packaging. The resulting submissions were varied and exciting. giving Jurors Joshua Gamma, Michael Hagan, and Zoma Wallace many difficult choices to make.

Pyramid is pleased to partner with The Washington Print Club and The Washington Print Foundation for Mesh. Through these partnerships, three $1,000 awards are offered to recognize excellence among the entries: Best Overall Entry, Best Work on Paper, and Most Innovative Entry.

MESH Artist Roster: Chloe Alexander (GA), Byron Ashley (TX), Aaron Bass (NM), Wes Beeler (IL), Andrew Blanchard (SC), Myles Calvert (SC), Casey Connelly (PA), Stephanie Damoff (NY), Lori Gann-Smith (TN), Kate Goodvin (IA), Jay Howley (MD), Imar Hutchins (DC), Lauren Jackson (MD), Grace Johnson (IN), Sue Johnson (VA), Nilou Kazemzadeh (PA), Selene LaMarca (DC), Cynthis Lollis/ETC Press (GA), Clay McGlamory (VA), Terence Nicholson (DC), Renato Paucar (MD), Serena Perrone (GA), Trinity Pote (MO), Philippe Ricard (MD), Henry Rosenberg (NY), K Sarrantonio (NY), Adi Segal (DC), Heather Swenson (PA), R.L. Tillman (MD), Varvara Tokareva (MD), Chadwick Tolley (GA), Cornelia Walworth (ME), and Connie Wolfe (IL).

Image Credit: Details of artworks L-R: Precious Resource by Trinity Pote; Untitled [Young W.E.B. DuBois] by Imar Hutchins; Oppse? Goppse! by Varvara Tokareva; Easy Money by Chadwick Tolley