Print Catalyst @ 30

This retrospective installation celebrates 30 years of the Print Catalyst Program, founded by Yale School of Art professor Rochelle Feinstein in 1996. On display are more than 35 diverse and innovative prints (including states, progressives, and matrices) produced through this collaboration between the School of Art and Yale University Art Gallery. 

The label texts share the artists’ and printers’ personal memories and accompanying photographs document the acts of creation over the decades.​​Each year, an artist is invited to the School of Art to create a print in a medium of their choosing—etching, lithography, screenprint, monotype, or woodcut. The program often pairs the visiting artist with a master printer, supplies the basic materials, and provides the “catalytic” environment in which they produce a work in real time. Throughout this process, undergraduate and graduate art students are invited to watch and ask questions. A proof of the resulting print is then acquired by the Gallery for our permanent collection.

While each of these projects starts simply, they often result in a published edition or lead to a more sustained collaboration between the artist and printer outside of Yale. Among the artists with works on display are Enrique Chagoya, Nicole Eisenman, Glenn Ligon, Suzanne McClelland, Marie Watt, and Terry Winters.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website