Letterpress Printing From Industry to Art Exhibition on Display in John A Day Gallery
“We are fortunate to have so many diverse examples of letterpress works in our collection,” said Amy Fill, University Art Galleries director. “This, in combination with the exquisite contemporary works, has created a robust and inspirational exhibition. We have included elements of sound, video and a selection of tools of the trade to further enhance the educational experience.”
James Quigley, assistant professor of graphic design, and University Art Galleries staff members co-curated this exhibition. They selected works from USD's permanent collection of letterpress works on paper printed in USD’s printmaking department during the 1980s along with letterpress artworks from prominent artists across the United States. Richard Kegler from P22 Type Foundry and Jen Farrell from Starshaped Press and Lead Graffiti are among the artists whose works are on display.
Johannes Gutenberg is credited for inventing the first movable type printing press in the 1430s. This modern printing process revolutionized education for the mass public and was the primary method of printing books for 500 years. As technologies advanced, the labor intensive process of letterpress printing was replaced by offset lithography, which is the primary printing process in use today.
A revival of the letterpress process occurred in the 1990s when smaller printing companies and artists wanted the handcrafted look and feel to their printed matters.
The gallery is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., excluding holidays. For more information about this exhibition and upcoming events, please email Amy Fill at Amy.Fill@usd.edu or call 605-658-3437.
