Press is an exhibition that explores the use of the machine press and its ongoing relationship to art, music, literature, and our material culture. The word “press” can be both a physical printing press machine, and the act of creating pressure by the artist to make an image. The Press exhibition will connect the human action of pressing and applying pressure on the one hand, to the weight and power of the machine press on the other.

 

Presses from the surrounding area will be invited to showcase their printed items alongside the tools of their trade. By bringing the press into the gallery, we will feature the process and work of Nick Baute and Robert Ronk from Hound Dog Press based in Louisville. The work of Gray Zeitz from Larkspur Press, who has been producing letterpress editions of works by Kentucky writers and poets since 1974, will also be on view. Together, using 19th century letterpress technology, they have built a reputation for producing beautifully crafted posters, prints, greeting cards, and stationery.

 

This exhibition will also explore the ways that artists from multiple disciplines have utilized machines and pressure in their contemporary practices.