The Zimmerli

Blocks of Color: American Woodcuts from the 1890s to the present

I went to the Zimmerli this week to see the new wood block exhibition. The color woodblocks were from a range of American artists and influences from the 1890's to present. There were many prints that were inspired by Japanese prints because prints like these originated in Japan and were once imported by wealthy families in Europe and America. These woodblock prints reflected Japanese prints both in composition and subject matter. Some incorporated people and others were landscape. There were also some that were abstract or design and color. I have never worked with woodblocks before, but the pieces were reminiscent of watercolor paintings. I honestly did not feel any connection to any pieces from this show, but I might have taken a couple to decorate a living room in my house.

I wandered the Zimmerli some more to see if there was anything else that would inspire me or that I could connect with, but the only other piece that caught my attention was a photorelief print by Georges Meunier since it looked like a Toulouse Latrec print. Meunier is a French artist and the piece "A program for El Dorado" is similar to the work Latrec would have done as well.