HAND PULLED

August 21-September 29

Alexandria, VA--Target Gallery at the Torpedo Factory Art Center will host Hand-pulled: The Contemporary Print, an exhibition of work by artists from across the United States and abroad. The exhibition will run from August 21 through September 29. A reception is scheduled for Thursday, September 12 from 6-9 PM. The juror for Hand-pulled is Joann Moser, Senior Curator of Graphic Arts at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Dr. Moser will present a lecture on the night of the reception. The exhibition, reception, and lecture are free of charge and open to the public.

From a total of nearly 500 submissions, Hand-pulled: The Contemporary Print includes work by 29 American and international artists. At a time when many artists are making digital images, this exhibition underscores the large community of printmakers working in traditional methods such as woodcut, copper plate engraving, lithography and monotypes. The primary criterion for submissions was that the images be transferred from their original surface (or matrix) to another surface by hand (or "hand-pulled").

Several of the printmakers represented are well-known, including Massachusetts artist Kurt Wisnecki and Virginia wood engraver Rosemary Feit Covey. Hand-pulled includes prints created both regionally and from as far away as Pakistan and Australia.

Hand-pulled also marks the inaugural presentation of the Clay Huffman Award. Huffman, a silkscreen artist who had a studio in the Torpedo Factory for many years, passed away in January 2001. To commemorate his contribution to regional print making (his brightly colored prints of nostalgic places were widely collected in the Metro D.C. area), his estate has established an award to recognize outstanding printmakers. The monetary award will be granted annually, and this year's recipient will be announced at the September 12 reception.

Target Gallery is located on the ground floor of the Torpedo Factory Art Center in Old Town, Alexandria, VA. Gallery hours are Wednesday through Sunday, noon to 5 PM. Target Gallery exhibitions, including Hand-pulled, are sponsored in part by the Friends of the Torpedo Factory Art Center, a 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization.