Artist residencies have been at the heart of Tamarind Institute’s mission for as long as the program has been in existence. This summer, Tamarind will offer regular gallery hours and a new exhibition titled Summer Reading will be on display.

Summer Reading opens Friday, May 24, from 5-7 p.m. at Tamarind Institute located at 2500 Central Ave S.E. in Albuquerque with a curator walk-through at 5:30 p.m. Summer Reading will be open Thursdays and Fridays from 1-4 p.m. through Aug. 16.

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California Interior #3, 2023 (23-318) by Jarvis Boyland

Each piece displayed in the exhibition was made in collaboration with Tamarind Master Printer Valpuri Remling, highlighting the significance of the relationship between artist and printer. The creative exchange during a collaboration is evident in the work, the process creates a unique expression that would not be realized without both artist and printer. During the collaborative process each artist brings a new perspective to the medium.

Summer Reading includes work by Henni AlftanEllen BerkenblitJarvis BoylandSonya ClarkJeffrey GibsonKoakJosé Antonio Suárez LondoñoBrian ReaMaja RuznicMatthew Shlian, and Paula Wilson. Diverse aesthetic styles converge in this tribute to the artists and their time at Tamarind Institute, unified by the beauty of collaboration.

Tamarind founder June Wayne created a venue meant to save an art form that would give contemporary artists the opportunity to grow in their studio practice while challenging printers to push the envelope and develop new approaches to lithography. The MoMA catalog for Tamarind: Homage to Lithography from 1969 quotes 1962/1963 guest artist John McLaughlin commenting: “I was especially impressed by the insistence that artist and printer must combine to press lithography to even greater limits rather than adjusting to its already proven capabilities.”

Tamarind Institute, a division of the College of Fine Arts at The University of New Mexico, is a workshop, a gallery, and a center for collaborative printmaking. Tamarind faculty and staff conduct research, train collaborative printers, and produce and publish original artworks with emerging and established artists from a plethora of disciplines. Tamarind Institute’s lithography process represents the alchemy of art, craft, material and synergy between artist and printer, resulting in exquisite hand-pulled impressions.

Top image: Night Peonies, 2022 (22-303) by Ellen Berkenblit

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