Rhode Island artists, Julia Samuels and Andrew Raftery, come together to explore printmaking via a discussion and exhibition featuring Julia’s relief prints and Andrew’s NetWorks Rhode Island video by Richard Goulis. Moderator Tripp Evans will lead a short discussion.
This reception is the first event of the new pass the torch Exhibition Series + Artist Talks at the WaterFire Arts Center and the closing show for Julia Samuel’s: Landscape in Relief.
Tuesday, January 21, 2020
6:00 – 7:00 pm
WaterFire Arts Center
475 Valley Street
Providence, RI
The Networks Rhode Island project and arts programming at the WaterFire Arts Center have been generously supported by Joseph A. Chazan M.D.
About the pass the torch Exhibition Series + Artist Talks
The pass the torch Exhibition Series + Artist Talks will connect an emerging Providence artist with an established NetWorks Rhode Island artist for an exhibition and artist talk. This series of exhibitions and talks will foster a relationship between two artists with the intention of passing on knowledge, experience and tools of the trade in an informal, momentary mentorship. By bringing generations together to explore changing themes and evolving techniques in like mediums, the pass the torch series becomes a catalyst and platform for discussion around the transforming art world of Providence.
About Julia Samuels
Julia Samuels is an artist primarily working within relief printmaking. Her work focuses on the tragedy and beauty of environmental damage. Julia was born in Portsmouth, NH and received her BFA in Printmaking from Pratt Institute in 2007. In Brooklyn she participated in building and managing The Gowanus Studio Space and also volunteered during the formative years of 596 Acres, an agency that helps neighbors gain access to vacant land in their communities. Julia received her MFA in Printmaking from Rhode Island School of Design in 2015 and has since founded Overpass Projects, now located in Pawtucket, RI. As master printer and director of Overpass Projects, Julia publishes and prints her own work as well as collaborative fine printmaking with other artists, bridging barriers between artistic disciplines and promoting cross-pollination between techniques. Julia’s work is in the permanent collections of RISD Museum, Davison Art Center at Wesleyan University, The Ford Foundation, New York Public Library, NYU Langone Medical Center, Allen Memorial Art Museum at Oberlin College, Chazen Museum of Art at University of Wisconsin, Spencer Museum of Art at University of Kansas as well as various private collections. Julia’s work is currently available at Lore Collection, 144 Brook St Providence, RI, WaterFire Arts Center shop as well as her website, overpassprojects.com
“My most recent work has been depicting neighborhoods around Providence. I love how the maze of transmission lines acts as both a conduit for current activities and shows the legacy of growing through different types of technology. I want the viewer to feel a sense of interconnectedness- with the neighborhood, the city, and when we expand our view, an interconnectedness with all of America and the world. I want the viewer to consider our collective responsibility and personal implications as we think about the ever-looming threat of global warming.”
—Julia Samuel’s reflection on Landscape in Relief, the current exhibition in the gallery at the WaterFire Arts Center
About Andrew Raftery
Andrew Raftery’s roots were in East Providence, from where his first generation Irish father came. He grew up in Washington, D.C., made his first print at the age of eleven, and attained a BFA from Boston University and an MFA from the Yale School of Art. Raftery, a professor of printmaking at the Rhode Island School of Design, where he has taught since 1991, is renowned for his mastery of engraving. He has won numerous awards and fellowships and exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions at many major venues in the East.
About the author
I've worked at WaterFire Providence since 2003. For the first 9 years of my career, I worked in the Production Shop learning all of the details that go into the physical production of the event. In 2012 transitioned to the role of managing WaterFire's social media and web presence. I now head up WaterFire Providence's digital projects including, web, social, databases, and our physical IT infrastructure.
