This week I ventured over to the University of New Mexico to view the group exhibition at the Tamarind Gallery featuring the works of Garo Antreasian, Valerie Arber, Frederick Hammersley, Robert Kelly, Nicholas Krushenick, John McLaughlin, Ruth Root, Leon Polk Smith and William Turnbull. The Edge of Color show includes a spectrum of lithographs, from the 1960s to the present, with geometric, hard edge color as a pure form in itself.
The Tamarind Lithography Workshop was established in Los Angeles in 1960 by artist June Wayne with funding from the Ford Foundation. Its goal was to bring attention to process of lithography—a method of printmaking invented in the late 18th century—and bolster its use among a new generation of artists. During its years in Los Angeles, the workshop was run by Wayne, Clinton Adams, and Garo Antreasian. In 1970, when funding had run out, Tamarind became affiliated with the University of New Mexico at Albuquerque, where it remains today.
The Tamarind Institute opened in 2010 to celebrate Tamarind’s 50th anniversary. It’s gallery exhibits and sells original, limited edition lithographs and monotypes created at Tamarind by visiting artists working side-by-side with collaborative printers. Revenue from these sales partially supports the institutes’s educational and research programs, as does revenue from projects with artists who contract for pressroom service.
After viewing this provocative and cutting edge exhibit, I started to wonder where are the artists today. According to Shelly Smith of the Tamarind Institute, “Valerie Arber currently lives and works as an artist in Marfa, Texas. Frederick Hammersley (January 5, 1919 – May 31, 2009) has a show now at Los Angeles Louver, and is one of the most important artists in evolution of abstraction in post-war Los Angeles. Robert Kelly, lives and works in New York City and Santa Fe (represented by Chiarscurro Gallery). Ruth Root also lives and works in New York City. Nicholas Krushenick (May 31, 1929 – February 5, 1999), John McLaughlin (May 21, 1898 – March 22, 1976), and Leon Polk Smith (1906-1996) are all deceased. William Turnbull (born January 11, 1922, Dundee, Scotland) had a show back in 1997 at Waddington Custot Galleries in London.”
Edge of Color will run through May 25, 2012 at the Tamarind Gallery at UNM, 2500 Central Avenue SE, Albuquerque, NM 87106, (505) 277-3901, http://tamarind.unm.edu
