New Grounds Print Workshop and Gallery celebrated their 20th anniversary this past weekend during First Friday’s ARTScrawl featuring a solo exhibition by Canadian printmaker Knicki Markolf. The gallery buzzed with local art enthusiasts eagerly participating in the hourly art raffle and enjoying the celebratory cake and good vibrations. Later in the evening, all eyes were on Markolf as she led a riveting linocut demonstration.
Markolf creates bold serigraphs and linoleum prints that explore the internal and external world, using vibrant patterns to reveal delicate connections. She believes we are the weavers of our lives, and as such, we are the fringe dwellers - we live on the edge of our fabric. What is already woven is our past, that which is unwoven is our future, and in the present moment we are on the edge of creation.
As an artist, Markolf is fascinated by the ways in which decorative patterns have been used to create a sense of importance or sacredness. Her work explores the sacred connections between everything using the threads of our lives. She works with knot designs, as well as new representational and abstract shapes, shaping ideas of binding and unbinding.
Markolf believes, “Art making is like falling in love, like opening a present. It is an ongoing process of letting go of preconceived ideas, listening & watching rather than arguing. I let my medium have its way with me, aiding me in unravelling its mystery, teaching me its story. I am a romantic spiritualist and my life is deeply interior. I like movement that is inward, downward and deep to allow for mystery. That is what art making is about, bringing that mystery forward.”
In addition, Matrix Fine Art opened a group show “The Contemporary Figure in Painting,” ranging from pop-influenced surrealism to imaginative, dynamic and endearing takes on human form. Featured artists include local and national painters Julie Beck, Adam Bustamente, Jessica Chao, Deborah Donelson, Archer Dougherty, George Evans, Jodie Herrera, Julia Lambright, Shana Leveson, Daniel Maidman, Iliya Mirochnik, Dylan Pommer, Serena Stevens, Laura Wacha, and Denise Weaver-Ross.
Knicki Markolf’s exhibition will hang through March 27th at New Grounds Print Workshop & Gallery, 3812 Central Avenue, SE, Suite 100 B, Albuquerque, NM 87108, (505) 268-8952, www.newgroundsprintshop.com.
