The Syracuse University Art Galleries will present “Art and Industry: A History of Mezzotint Engraving,” a lecture by exhibiting SUArt Galleries artist and print historian Carol Wax. The lecture will be presented Wednesday, March 4, at 5:30 p.m. at the SUArt Galleries. Also on display at the SUArt Galleries is a solo exhibition of the artist’s work, “The Shadow of Industry: The Prints of Carol Wax,” through March 15.
Carol Wax, “The Oliver,” 2004
The lecture and exhibition are a part of the yearlong celebration of women and the arts at the SUArt Galleries. The event is free and open to the public. For parking information, visit http://parking.syr.edu.
Artist and print historian Wax will examine the evolution of the mezzotint engraving medium from its inception in 1642 through its development as a vital vehicle for reproducing paintings to the demise of the mezzotint industry in the 19th century, and the resurgence of mezzotint as an original art form.
Originally trained to be a classical musician at the Manhattan School of Music, Wax fell in love with printmaking. Soon after she began engraving mezzotints, she was asked by the renowned print dealer Sylvan Cole to exhibit at Associated American Artists Gallery, launching her career as a professional artist/printmaker. With the publication of her book “The Mezzotint: History and Technique,” published by Abrams, 1990 and 1996, Wax added author and teacher to her credits. In the ensuing years she has expanded her repertoire of media beyond printmaking into other works on paper and painting.
Recognition of Wax’s art includes an individual support grant from the Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Foundation, Inc., two artist fellowships from the New York Foundation for the Arts, a Concordia Career Advancement Award from NYFA, the Louise Nevelson Award for Excellence in Printmaking from the American Academy of Arts and Letters and residencies at the MacDowell Colony and Marie Walsh Sharpe Art Foundation’s Space Program. The many collections that own her prints include the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the New York and Boston public libraries, the Philadelphia Museum of Art, the Library of Congress and the National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution.
Complete information on the event, and the exhibition, is available by visiting the website at http://suart.syr.edu/.
