46th National Print

My relationship with Artlink and this exhibition—one of the nation’s longest-running juried print exhibitions—dates back to 1995, when I moved to teach at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. Shortly thereafter, I was encouraged to apply to this highly competitive exhibition, and in 1996, I was honored to have my work accepted. Ever since that time, this exhibition has remained deeply meaningful to me. It is one I have consistently considered submitting to throughout my career—even while living abroad—but perhaps more importantly, it is one I have always eagerly anticipated as a place to encounter new talent and discover artists and printmakers for the first time.

In this way, the Artlink Annual Print Show has long served as a microcosm of American printmaking, where both established and emerging artists converge, and where some of the most respected artists and curators have served as jurors. The enduring commitment of the Fort Wayne community and the Artlink staff to this creative forum has, in many respects, reflected and sustained the pulse of printmaking in the United States. Having participated in this exhibition many times over the past three decades, I was both thrilled and deeply honored to be invited to serve as its juror this year.

Reviewing the submissions was both a joy and a challenge. The breadth of approaches to printmaking today is remarkable—ranging from established processes such as relief, intaglio, and lithography to hybrid, experimental, and digitally informed practices. While printmaking is rooted in the fundamental act of transferring an image from a matrix to another surface, artists continue to expand and redefine this process in compelling ways.

In selecting works for this exhibition, I was challenged not only by the sheer number of exceptional submissions but also by the space limitations that made it impossible to include more. Over the course of two weeks, I found myself returning to the works repeatedly. In small and deliberate increments, certain pieces began to sustain my attention—revealing new layers with each viewing. Having experienced this process from both sides, as an artist and as a juror, I am keenly aware that these decisions are difficult and often resist clear explanation. They are, in many ways, as subjective as they strive to be objective.

The selected works demonstrate not only a compelling command of print media but also a willingness to push beyond it. I was drawn to works that balanced technical sensitivity with conceptual clarity and conveyed a distinct and confident artistic voice. Some prints employ centuries-old techniques to situate themselves firmly in the present, while others embrace unconventional or emerging processes to reflect on universal themes of beauty and existence. Whether through personal or social narrative, abstraction, material exploration, or inventive use of process, each work reflects a thoughtful and engaged approach to the medium.

As is always the case with an exhibition of this caliber, many exceptional works could not be included due to space limitations. The overall quality of submissions speaks to the vitality of contemporary printmaking—its continued relevance—and to the dedication of the artists who invest themselves in this demanding and rewarding practice.

Prints invite close and sustained looking. They reward patience, revealing their nuances through texture, layering, and process. I encourage you to spend time with these works—to look carefully, to move closer, and to consider the many decisions and gestures that brought each print into being. It is my hope that this selection reflects both the richness of contemporary printmaking and the exciting directions in which the medium continues to evolve. I extend my sincere gratitude to Artlink and to Ellen Mensch for their support throughout this process.

Exhibiting Artists

David Avery, Mary Becker, John Bergmeier, Lisa Bigalke, Lane Black, Sarah Bogdal, Kate Borcherding, Grant Brownlow, Jody Bruns, Laura Cantor, Kyle Chaput, Art Cislo, Madison Cooper, Neal Cox, Andrew DeCaen, Lauren Emeritz, Shaun Forester, Donald Furst, Jon Goebel, Lee Hackett, William Hays, Marco HernandezYuji Hiratsuka, Shireen Holman, Jayne Reid Jackson, Acadia Kandora, Kazhia Kolb, Kelly Lee, Emily Legleitner, Amanda Lilleston, Berel Lutsky, Emily Mann, Heather Muise, Chad Nelson, Paige Nguyen, Kristin Powers Nowlin, Walt Padgett, Johnny Plastini, Jeremy Plunkett, Liz Roth, Nicholas Ruth, Kevin Schroeder, Meredith Setser, Bethanie Shrider, Geo Sipp, Sarah Smelser, Stephanie Smith, Sally Sorenson, Brett Taylor, David Taylor, Tyler Thenikl, Peter Van Ael, Emily Varga, Paula Veleta , John Vinklarek, Karen Waggoner, Michael Weigman, and Brandon Williams

About the Juror

Endi Poskovic is a Professor at the University of Michigan School of Art and Design, as well as at the University of Michigan Center for Russian, East European, and Eurasian Studies.

He completed his B.F.A. at the University of Sarajevo Academy of Fine Arts in 1990. A Minnefindet Scholarship, funded by the Norwegian government, enabled him to live in Norway for a year to study art as well as the Nynorsk language and culture. From Norway, Poskovic moved to the United States to study with Harvey Breverman and Adele Henderson at the State University of New York at Buffalo, where he earned his M.F.A. in 1993.

Widely exhibited, Poskovic has presented his prints in some of the most prestigious venues for print media, most recently in the 14th Taipei International Print Biennial, and the 2009 Krakow International Print Triennial. He has also shown work in the Egyptian International Print Triennial, La Biennale Internationale d'Estampe Contemporaine de Trois-Rivières in Canada, Deutsche Internationale Grafik-Triennale in Frechen, Tallinn International Triennial in Estonia, Xylon International Triennale in France, and Ljubljana International Graphic Arts Biennale in Slovenia. 

Poskovic has been the recipient of numerous grants and fellowships, most recently from the John D. Rockefeller Foundation Bellagio Study Center in Italy and the Open Studio Centre in Canada. Other notable awards include grants and fellowships from the Pollock-Krasner Foundation, Camargo Foundation in France, MacDowell Colony, Art Matters Foundation, New York State Arts Council, Bemis Center for Contemporary Art, Indiana Arts Commission, Confucius Institute, Durfee Foundation, Flemish Ministry of Culture-Frans Masereel Centrum in Belgium, Weiser Center for Emerging Democracies, McColl Center for Visual Arts, Can Serrat International Art Centre in Spain, Virginia Center for the Creative Arts, Kala Art Institute, Valparaiso Foundation in Spain, and the University of Michigan Center for Japanese Studies.

Works by Endi Poskovic are in many permanent collections, including the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Royal Antwerp Museum of Fine Arts, Centre National des Arts Plastiques in Cairo, the Fogg Art Museum—Harvard University, National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts, New Orleans Museum of Art, Orange County Museum of Art in California, the Kennedy Museum of American Art, the University of Iowa Museum of Art, Des Moines Art Center, Seattle Arts Commission, The Krakow International Print Triennial Society Museum of Art, Tampa Museum of Fine Arts, Vaasa Ostrobothnian Museum in Finland, and the Musée d'Art Contemporain Fernet Branca-Saint-Louis in France.