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“In the galleries: Exhibit radiates with force, color and drama” -The Washington Post
“Artists Enjoy New Mediums in Transformer’s Am I the Past, Am I the Future”- Washington City Paper

FIND PROGRAMMING DETAILS BELOW!

E20: PRINTMAKING

Am I the Past, Am I the Future

JULY 8 - AUGUST 19, 2023

Jeanette Bolden, Korey Richardson, Shyama Kuver, Varvara Sergeevna Tokareva

Lead Mentor: Rose Jaffe

VISIONARY LEADERS CIRCLE PREVIEW: Friday, July 7, 2023 | 5 - 7 PM
OPENING RECEPTION: Saturday, July 8, 2023 | 2 - 5 PM

Emerging printmaking artists explore new techniques and collaboratively create a new body of work to be presented in a group exhibition: Am I the Past, Am I the Future.

Transformer is honored to announce Am I the Past, Am I the Future – the public component of E20: Printmaking. E20: Printmaking marks the 20th year Transformer’s Exercises for Emerging Artists program, an annual peer critique and mentorship program for DC area based emerging artists.

Centered on a different artistic discipline each year of the program, E20: Printmaking has been supporting four artists – Jeanette Bolden, Shyama Kuver, Korey Richardson, and Varvara Sergeevna Tokareva – in their professional development and exploration of new techniques and approaches to printmaking. Am I the Past, Am I the Future is the culminating group exhibition of E20: Printmaking, with the artists collaboratively creating new artworks.

Launched in March 2004, Transformer’s Exercises for Emerging Artists program supports emerging artists at growth points or crossroads in their professional and creative development. Intended to both advance artists' careers and build peer support, the Exercises consists of rigorous bi-weekly peer critique and mentorship sessions spanning several months each spring to stimulate and encourage the participating artists as they create new work. Facilitated by Transformer staff and an invited lead mentor, the participating artists receive insight and feedback from a series of guest mentor artists, curators, and other arts leaders.

E20: Printmaking has been led by mentor Rose Jaffe, a DC based visual artist working within mediums spanning mural painting, ceramics, printmaking, and digital illustration. E20: Printmaking artists received additional guidance and feedback from a series of guest mentors, including: John Fleissner, Gretchen Schmernerhorn, and Imar Hutchins. This year’s Exercises has been coordinated by Transformer Program Assistant, Camille DeSanto.

Throughout this spring’s mentorship sessions, the participating artists learned about best professional practices in printmaking while also diving into the medium’s social justice history, and the intersection between printmaking and memory. Mentees gained experience working within different print studios in the DMV area, including: Pyramid Atlantic, the University of Maryland printshop, and lead mentor Rose Jaffe’s studio.

The artists collaboratively developed and individually created new works to be presented at Transformer in the group exhibition Am I the Past, Am I the Future. Taking a curious leap into rendering their inclinations about the future, the artists craft a branching response that touches upon honoring contributions of the past, testing developing tech, and reflecting on the ambiguous nature of the future.

EXHIBITION PROGRAMMING

OPENING RECEPTION/ MEET THE ARTISTS

Sat. July 8 | 2 - 5 PM
Join Transformer for the opening day of Am I the Past, Am I the Future.
Meet E20: Printmaking artists: Jeanette Bolden, Shyama Kuver, Korey Richardson, and Varvara Sergeevna Tokareva.
ARTIST TALK WITH VARVARA SERGEEVNA TOKAREVA

Sat. July 15 | 2 – 4 PM
Meet artist Varvara Sergeevna Tokareva and hear her speak about the use of AI in her personal art practice, and its effects on the visual arts landscape.
ARTIST TALK WITH SHYAMA KUVER

Thurs. July 20 4 – 6 PM
Meet artist Shyama Kuver and hear her speak about her exhibition artwork and its connection to both past, present, and future, as well as its connection to indenture and immigration.
MINI STICKER WORKSHOP WITH KOREY RICHARDSON

Sat. August 5 | 1 – 4 PM
Screen print your own 4 x 3 in sticker at Transformer! Learn about the screen printing process with hands-on instruction from artist Korey Richardson.
BOOKMAKING WITH JEANETTE BOLDEN

Sat. August 12 | 2 – 4 PM
During this bookmaking workshop, participants will create a personal pictorial dictionary and expand upon the meaning of their chosen images as a group.

Register now!
Exhibition Closing

Sat. August 19
Last chance to view Am I the Past, Am I the Future during exhibition hours: 12 - 6 PM.

E20: PRINTMAKING PARTICIPATING ARTISTS

Shyama Kuver

Shyama Kuver’s (she/her) artistic practice is inspired by her queer and Indo-Fijian identities, a love for postcolonial fiction, her ancestral legacy of indenture, and growing up in pre-tech San Francisco. From a young age art was a place for exploration in her search for a sense of belonging. Without a solid national, racial, or ethnic identity, and complicated (mis)understandings of motherland monoliths, her artistic style speaks to the multicultural, spiritual, and experiential contexts that have shaped her life and career.

Shyama is a community and self-taught artist living in Washington, DC. She also works in education creating equitable infrastructures for students who are system-impacted, parenting, and/or are returning to pursue their undergraduate degree as adults.

Varvara Tokareva

Varvara Tokareva (born in 1987) — visual artist, printmaker and graphic designer. She completed MFA studies at Eugeniusz Geppert Academy of Fine Arts and Design in Wroclaw, Poland with a major in Graphic Arts. After 4 years of fellowships in Europe, she is currently based in the USA, Maryland, where she continues her academic career at Department of Art, UMD. Owner of Printingmadnessforever studio (2017) with a focus on non-commercial projects in printmaking and calligraphy. Furious imposter syndrome fighter, chronic overthinker and amateur cyclist.

JEANETTE BOLDEN

Jeanette Bolden graduated from the University of Maryland, majoring in Studio Arts with a minor in Art History in 2022. That same year Bolden interned at Pyramid Atlantic and co-taught the Hispanic Heritage Month Poster Internship Program. Her work was featured in the fall 2021 issue of On Paper: Journal of The Washington Print Club, and she received The Washington Print Club's 2021 Young Printer Award. Additionally, she contributed illustrations to the Diamondback Newspaper Behind the Demands project.

Bolden explores the relationship between body, memory, and iconography, examining concepts of lineage, identity, and collective consciousness. Bolden utilizes various mediums such as motifs, photos, collages, and cyanotypes and combines traditional and alternative printmaking techniques to connect these themes.

Korey Richardson

As a mixed-media artist, I find inspiration in the rich tapestry of African American culture, history, and the limitless possibilities of Afrofuturism. My artistic practice encompasses paintings, screen prints, and murals, allowing me to explore the intersection of past, present, and future through multiple mediums.

In my work, I strive to capture the essence of my subjects and convey the enduring impact they have on shaping our collective narrative. I believe that the legacy of these individuals, their stories, struggles, and triumphs, continue to inspire and pave the way for a brighter future. To visually represent this concept, I employ a continuous line technique in my portraiture. By using a single, unbroken line, I aim to convey the interconnectedness of generations and the seamless flow of influence from one era to the next. It is my hope that viewers will perceive the unbroken lineage of resilience, strength, and creativity that forms the foundation of African American culture. Read Richardon’s full artist bio HERE.