For Immediate Release May 23, 2025
Media Contact: Kate Taylor Davis | 202-321-2878 | ktdavis@pyramid-atlantic.org
PRESS ON
Exhibition Explores Possibilities of Letterpress Printing
(Hyattsville, MD) Artists from all over the US, with additional participants from Canada, France, and Japan, are featured in this exhibition that celebrates letterpress as a powerful medium for artistic expression. In addition to traditional letterpress printing, varied techniques include inkless pressure printing and linocut blocks reconfigured to be used on a letterpress machine. The resulting show has nearly 100 works and is a testament to the creative possibilities of letterpress.
PRESS ON opens Friday May 30 with a reception from 6-8 pm. The exhibition runs through July 13 in Pyramid’s Helen C. Frederick Gallery. Gallery hours are Wed & Thu, 10 – 8 pm and Fri – Sun, 10 – 6 pm. Pyramid is located at 4318 Gallatin Street, Hyattsville, Maryland 20781. For more information and an RSVP link, visit pyramidatlantic.org or call 301-608-9101.
Jurors Celene Aubry of Hatch Show Print (TN) and Allison Tipton of Globe Collection and Press at MICA (MD) had the difficult job of selecting from over 400 entries. The resulting show features a wide range of formats, including artist books, work on fabric, vinyl, and paper. The content ranges from political to inspirational; narrative to conceptual; and type both representing and exploring language, including English, French, Hebrew, Japanese, and Korean.
To accommodate the size of the exhibition, Pyramid is utilizing newly opened space within its facility. The additional space is currently in a planning phase for future use, but the Pyramid team is very excited to have an extra large gallery to showcase the PRESS ON works.
Letterpress printing dates back to Johannes Gutenberg’s invention of a printing press with movable type in the 1450s. Letterpress printing remained commonly used until the 1950s, when further automation processes made offset printing more favorable. By the 1980s, letterpress machine and type manufactures essentially ceased production. However, artists have returned to the aesthetic appeal and craftsmanship associated with the handmade quality visible in letterpress printing. New tools, such as polymer plate graphics and type, offer artists a wide range of old and new options for creativity in print while still using these now vintage machines. Pyramid has several presses and a good collection of type for artistic use and loves seeing ways in which artists have used historic methods, contemporary hacks, and ingenuity to make new work on these old machines.
PRESS ON artists: Kennedy Adams | Jody Arthur | Lauren Bailey | Frank Baseman | Andre Bassuet | Molly Berkson | Rick Black | Black Rock Press with: Zach Clark, Jayna Conkey, Josh Dannin, AB Gorham, Tanya Gutierrez, Meghan Pohlod, Kelsey Reiman, Thea Sizemore, Jessica Spring, Phoebe Todd-Parrish | Sara Blumberg | E Bond | Lauryn Boyd | Servane Briand, Patrick Fenton and Samuel Mignot | Mary Bruno | Stephanie Carpenter | Valerie Carrigan | Olivia Childress | Cynthia Connolly | Elizabeth DeLuna | Jon Drew | Lauren Emeritz | Tyler English | Theresa Esterlund | Jennifer Farrell | Angela Fegan | Scott Fisk | Tate Foley | Katherine Fries | Ruthann Godollei | Alisa Golden | AB Gorham | Virginia Green | Belle Handler | Carlos Hernandez | Susanna Herrmann | Elaisha Hilliard | Erica Honson | Raluca Iancu | Ayumi Ishii and Kate Copeland | Jim Jereb | Stacie Kammerling | Richard Kegler | Eric Leland | Amanda Levendowski | Eric Lunde | Aya Masumoto | Sarah Matthews | Sarah McCoy | Casey McGarr | Christine Medley | Kari Ann Miller | James Modrick | Erin Moore | Marjon Mudde and Magdéleine Ferru | Khoa Nguyen | Paul Oh | Mervi Pakaste | Poojana Prasanna | James Quigley | Lisa Rappoport | Jason Rigg | Etai Rogers-Fett | Stefan Saal | Mark Sarigianis | Lindsay Schmittle | Noam Sienna and Aaron Silver | Rachel Simmons | Nicole Soley | Raychel Steinbach | Steven Stichter | Elinor Swanson | Linda Talleur | Emily Tamulewicz | Misty Thomas-Trout | Michaela Tures | Britta Urness | Patrick Vincent | Jeff Wilkson | David Wolske | Richard Zeid
ABOUT PYRAMID ATLANTIC
pyramidatlanticartcenter.org
Founded in 1981, Pyramid Atlantic is a nonprofit contemporary art center. Our mission is to sustain and elevate a welcoming arts hub in Hyattsville. MD that champions contemporary printmaking, papermaking, and book arts. We equip, educate, and exhibit while prioritizing artistic integrity, creative growth, and inclusivity. Our vision is to anchor an arts community that recognizes and uplifts the importance of artists, the intrinsic values of working with your hands, and the economy of artist-made work.
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Image credits (l-r): You’ve Gotta Be Seen Green by Elaisha Hilliard, letterpress printed linocut; Say So by Ruthann Godollei, letterpress and relief print; Hive by Mervi Pakaste, letterpress printed artist book; Self Portrait by Christine Medley, letterpress printed linocut.