MARN is pleased to present a panel, “Why a Book? 4 artists on why and how they make artist books.”, on Thursday, May 2nd from 5:30-7:30pm at the MARN ART + CULTURE HUB.
Join MARN Mentor Berel Lutsky for a discussion with local book artists and professionals—Ben Rinehart, Stephanie Copoulus-Selle and Melissa Wagner-Lawler— along with Q&A and social hour.
This event is free and open to the public.
Donations are kindly accepted in support of the MARNmentorship Program.
About:
Berel Lutsky (he/him) was born in Buffalo NY and raised in Milwaukee, WI. He earned his BS in studio art with a concentration in printmaking from UW Madison, and his MFA in studio art with a concentration in printmaking and drawing from UW Milwaukee. He taught at UW Green Bay, several UW Colleges, Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design, Carroll University in Waukesha, and the Avni Institute in Israel. His work has been exhibited locally, regionally and nationally in juried and invitational shows and is in public and private collections in Israel, Belgium, Japan and the US. He is currently Professor of Art Emeritus at UW Green Bay- Manitowoc Campus where he taught drawing, design, printmaking, photography and painting since 2001. He also is a co-founder and facilitator of ReallyBIGPRINTS!! a biennial streetroller printing event and exhibition of large scale relief prints. Information is at :reallybigprints.org. Lutsky is also a resident printmaker at Studio 224 in Port Washington, and was the 2020-2021 ARTservancy Resident at the Kratszch Conservancy.
Melissa Wagner-Lawler is an artist and Teaching Faculty in the Printmaking & Book Arts department at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She received her BFA from Milwaukee Institute of Art and Design and MFA in Visual Studies from the Minneapolis College of Art and Design. For over a decade, Wagner-Lawler’s practice has been dedicated to artist books and exploring the intricacies of the format. Her artist books use letterpress and other printmaking techniques to investigate elements of tension, the breakdown of information and the fragility of circumstance. To date, she has produced 15 editioned book works, all of which are housed within collections around the country. Her work can be viewed at www.redthreadletterpress.com.
Wagner-Lawler’s work has been exhibited widely and is held in over 40 notable collections, including the Library of Congress Rare Book Collection, Stanford University, Bainbridge Museum of Art, Yale University and the Smithsonian American Art & Portraiture Library.
Benjamin D. Rinehart is an artist and educator that specializes in multimedia images with a strong focus in printmaking, book arts, pop-ups, and movables. He is intrigued how pop-ups and movables keep the viewer physically engaged by providing a tactile and psychological experience when interacting with the various elements. His socially charged work is currently a part of over 60 public collections and has been exhibited both nationally and internationally. He received a Bachelor of Fine Arts at Herron School of Art in Indianapolis, IN and a Master of Fine Arts from Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, LA. Ben is currently a Professor of Printmaking and Artist Books at Lawrence University in Appleton, Wisconsin. He continues to lecture and teach as a visiting artist at various institutions around the country like the Center for Book Arts in NYC and John Michael Kohler Art Center. For examples of Ben’s work visit www.benrinehart.com.
Stephanie Copoulos-Selle is an Emerita professor of art at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee at Waukesha. She received her MFA from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Her work has been exhibited nationally and internationally. It is included in over seventy collections, such as: Bainbridge Museum of Art, Carnegie Mellon University, Museum of Wisconsin Art, Ohio University, Ottis College of Art and Design, Quad Graphics, Rhode Island School of Design, Scripps College, Topeka Public Library, University of Alberta, Canada, University of California-Los Angeles, University of California-Santa Barbara, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, and Washington University. In 2008 she was awarded a Women’s Studio Workshop Grant and Artist’s Book Residency. She works in three mediums, artist’s books, prints, and paintings. Her work, “Time Wall”, is currently on display in a permanent installation at the Waukesha Public Library on the North wall. To view view more of her work visit: http://stephanie.copoulos.com.