News Release: October 5, 2001

"Best Impressions: 35 Years of Prints and Sculpture from Gemini G.E.L." On View at the National Gallery of Art November 4, 2001 - January 21, 2002

Washington, DC -- Since 1981 the National Gallery of Art has been home to the complete archive collection of one of America's greatest printmaking workshops, Gemini G.E.L. (Graphic Editions Limited). This exhibition highlights approximately 50 of the finest prints and works of edition sculpture produced by 50 of the foremost contemporary artists who have collaborated with Gemini's master printers and artisans over the last 35 years. The show is on view in the East Building from November 4, 2001 through January 21, 2002, and heralds the Gallery's first online catalogue raisonné surveying Gemini's publications from 1966 to 1996

"From its beginnings, Gemini has introduced cutting-edge methods of fabrication to realize the visions of its invited artists," said Earl A. Powell III, director, National Gallery of Art. "We are pleased to present these innovative works by some of the greatest names in contemporary art."

The Exhibition

Best Impressions: 35 Years of Prints and Sculpture from Gemini G.E.L. reviews the work of many of the artists who have published with Gemini G.E.L. since its earliest days. The images range from Robert Rauschenberg's early-career masterpiece Booster, which redefined the possibilities of size and scale of contemporary prints when it was published in 1967, to David Hockney's Going Round (1994), which explored fresh possibilities of integrating computer-enhanced imagery in fine art prints.

Long time Gemini artist Roy Lichtenstein produced many series of prints at Gemini. He is here represented with one of his Asian-inspired landscapes created with enlarged Ben Day dots, which he completed shortly before his death in 1997. Included among the many other masters who have worked at Gemini over a long period are Jasper Johns, Ellsworth Kelly, and Claes Oldenburg.

Visitors will see an astonishing range of explorations by artists at Gemini, from the intimate to the Herculean. A delicate intaglio by Vija Celmins counterpoints an immense multi part lithograph by French conceptual artist Daniel Buren. Imaginative edition sculpture includes T'ang (1977) by Mark di Suvero, a work in steel composed of jigsaw- puzzle-like pieces that can be assembled in multiple configurations, and Krone by Edward Kienholz and Nancy Reddin Kienholz, a humorous yet ominous sculptural still life enhanced with sound.

In addition, abstract expressionist Robert Motherwell and surrealist Man Ray are represented, as well as key artists who emerged in the pop art era, such as James Rosenquist and Edward Ruscha. Other figures explore the realm of abstraction, including Josef Albers, Frank Stella, and Richard Serra, or reflect the growth of conceptual art, such as John Baldessari. A blossoming of expressive figuration is seen in the imaginative prints of Elizabeth Murray and Saul Steinberg, as well as in Susan Rothenberg's mysterious and atmospheric images.

The work of artists new to Gemini is also included in the exhibition, for example an image by poet/artist Allen Ginsberg, provocative work by Robert Gober, a groundbreaking print by Ann Hamilton, and a lyrical etching with lithograph by Brice Marden. The show is enhanced by a sculpture by architect/artist Frank Gehry, based on a design he utilized on a much larger scale as an architectural element for a bank atrium in Germany.

Curator, Catalogue, and Related Activities

The online Gemini G.E.L. catalogue raisonné will be free to the public on the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov/gemini/home.htm and will be updated periodically. Charles Ritchie, assistant curator of modern prints and drawings, coordinated the exhibition and catalogue.

General Information

The National Gallery of Art and its Sculpture Garden are at all times free to the public. They are located on the National Mall between 3rd and 9th Streets at Constitution Avenue NW, and are open Monday through Saturday from 10:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Sunday from 11:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. The Gallery is closed on December 25 and January 1. For information call (202) 737-4215 or the Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) at (202) 842-6176, or visit the Gallery's Web site at www.nga.gov.

Visitors will be asked to present all carried items for inspection upon entering the East and West Buildings. Checkrooms are free of charge and located at each entrance. Luggage and other oversized bags must be presented at the 4th Street entrances to the East or West Building to permit x-ray screening and must be deposited in the checkrooms at those entrances. For the safety of visitors and the works of art, nothing may be carried into the Gallery on a visitor's back. Any bag or other items that cannot be carried reasonably and safely in some other manner must be left in the checkrooms. Items larger than 17 x 26 inches cannot be accepted by the Gallery or its checkrooms.

For additional press information please call or send inquiries to:

Press Office
National Gallery of Art
2000B South Club Drive
Landover, MD 20785
phone: (202) 842-6353 e-mail: pressinfo@nga.gov

Deborah Ziska
Chief of Press and Public Information
(202) 842-6353
ds-ziska@nga.gov

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