Austin Way Magazine - GreenGale Publishing - There is a place beyond the crowds, beyond the ropes, where dreams are realized and success is celebrated. You are invited.
Issue link: http://digital.greengale.com/i/787203
PHOTOGRAPHY BY JENNIFER HANDLING It's a coffee table book worth its weight in art. As one of the country's premier printmaking facilities, Austin's Flatbed Press and Gallery has spent more than a quarter-century helping artists realize their visions. To celebrate its first 25 years, founders Mark Smith and Katherine Brimberry selected more than 35 diverse artists, from Julie Speed and Robert Rauschenberg to Terry Allen and Michael Ray Charles, to highlight in the beautiful and mesmerizing Flatbed Press at 25, published in late 2016 by the University of Texas Press. The book's 432 pages contain rich, colorful reproductions that draw you in. Making them even more compelling is the accompanying text by Smith and Brimberry that tells the stories behind the prints, including the specific challenges for each piece. It's all a testament to the beauty and clockwise from left: Prints by John Robert Craft, Keith Carter, Dan Rizzie, Robert L. Levers Jr., and Julie Speed show the diversity and range of what has come out of Austin's Flatbed Press over the last 25 years. THE FINE PRINTS FLATBED PRESS AT 25 CELEBRATES THE BEST OF AUSTIN'S NATIONALLY REVERED STUDIO. importance of print- making, especially in tumultuous times. "Art is essentially a universal language—it doesn't matter what your politics are, what your religion is, what your ethnicity is, where you live," says Smith. "Art is a bridge between all kinds of people. Printmaking allows us to create work that can be very meaningful for a lot of people." Flatbed Press and Gallery, 2830 E. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd., 512-477-9328; flatbedpress.com . 40 AUSTINWAY.COM "PRINTMAKING ALLOWS US TO CREATE WORK THAT CAN BE VERY MEANINGFUL FOR A LOT OF PEOPLE." —mark smith SPACE TIMELY TOME