“In Between,” the forthcoming Downtown Aurora Visual Arts exhibit that will focus on the metroplex’s printmakers, highlights a feeling that most anybody could relate to, whether it be culture, identity or transitioning back into normal life from a global pandemic.
“As an immigrant myself, I feel like I live between two different worlds,” said DAVA Program Manager Viviane Le Courtois, who immigrated to the U.S. from France in 1996. “Two countries. Two languages. Two worlds.”
She picked a handful of artists who also have some experience with the “in between,” whether it be nationality, culture, gender or some other form of identity. Their medium is printmaking, which Le Courtois said is a natural expression for such a theme. The show also aligns with Month of Printmaking (dubbed Mo’Print), a celebration for the artform.
Prints in the show are as different as each artist’s life experience. Some utilize etching, linocut or woodcut while others are silkscreen printed.
“A lot of my art is reflective of my own identity, existing in this space that isn’t quite one or the other,” said printmaker Nistasha Perez, who has two pieces showing in the exhibition.
The lifelong Denverite said her blended Latinx and Jewish heritages have often been the backdrop for feelings of “otherness,” but printmaking has been a natural way to explore it.
“I had a teacher that said printmaking was the most democratic of all artforms, because it’s not just about the original. There’s not just this one painting,” she said. “It’s made to be distributed, and for the people. It’s to be informative, and it has a long history of being activist-related. It’s really appealing in that way.”
Perez’s featured prints, made on handmade paper to achieve an original canvas for equally original artwork, emphasize symbols of identity. One print, from her “Bleeding Heart” series, was born out of her grandfather’s characterization of liberals.
“I looked at all things I care about and my heart does bleed for them,” she said.
Unlike a lot of art, true prints aren’t mass-produced. While a run of 10 or more prints may all look the same, each one can slightly vary because of paper, ink, stamps or a variety of other factors. That’s the beauty in the artform, Perez said.
It’s also an important lesson for students at DAVA, which primarily focuses on youth engagement. While students of the north Aurora center won’t be featured in the show, Le Courtois said they’ll get to meet and learn from the artists, many of which are representative of the student make-up. DAVA sits in one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in the Denver metroplex and a city where nearly one in five people are foregin born.
DAVA estimates that nearly 80% of its students are immigrants or refugees.
“The artists reflect the students,” Le Courtois said of the chosen group of printmakers (Javier Flores, Jade Hoyer, Rebecca Rozales, Sarah Fukami, Zachary Carlisle Davidson, Motts, Jordyne Salinas, Jon Olson also join Perez).
For patrons of the center, the exhibition is a clear demonstration of what it means to belong to more than one group, she said.
“I would hope they would get a better understanding of diversity and inclusivity from looking at this artwork,” Le Courtois said. “And understand how diverse the artist community is.”
IF YOU GO: The exhibition will be open to the public from March 18 to April 22 at 1405 Florence Street in Aurora. An opening reception will take place 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on March 18. The exhibition is free and open to the public 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday or by appointment.