Josh Smith, 2015 – 2016

Josh Smith
Maurice Sanchez, printer
2015-2016

Workshop: October 7 – 9, 2015

New York-based artist Josh Smith has distinguished himself by his mastery of multiple mediums including painting, printmaking, collage, sculpture, bookmaking, and ceramics.

During this workshop, Smith collaborated with Maurice Sanchez using Sanchez’s innovative method of producing multiple strong impressions from a single monotype plate (which generally only produces one strong impression and a lighter “ghost” impression). This process also allows the artist to work in a variety of materials including lithography inks, graphite, and both chalk and oil pastels.

In recent years, Smith has preferred motifs such as leaves, fish, skeletons, insects, ghosts, and sunsets. In selecting these rather arbitrary subjects and rendering them in a manner that is by turns aggressive, playful, repetitive, and oblique, Smith compels us to move beyond aesthetics towards a focus on process and looking.  During the Smith College Print Workshop the artist produced monotypes with a variety of subjects including fish, pumpkins and sculptures.