Gonzaga University’s Jundt Art Museum opens its main fall exhibition, “Personal to Political: Celebrating the African American Artists of Paulson Fontaine Press. The traveling show–organized by the Bedford Gallery at the Lesher Center for the Arts (Walnut Creek, Califonia)–runs through Dec. 20 and is free to the public.
Museum director and curator Paul Manoguerra said in a Gonzaga news release that the exhibition showcases contemporary African American artists who have produced printworks at Paulson Fontaine Press in Berkeley. Many of the artists are not traditional printmakers; working closely with master printers, they translate their ideas through techniques such as etching, aquatint, and chine collé, often incorporating collage elements and textiles.
Highlights, according to the release, include:
- David Huffman’s motif of basketball pyramids–reimagined on-site at Gonzaga as a large-scale installation built from approximately 650 rubber basketballs (base grid 12×12 = 144 balls). Huffman’s work plays with symbols of Black culture and references to ancient Egypt.
- Prints inspired by the quilters of Gee’s Bend, Alabama, translating celebrated quilt aesthetics into works on paper.
- Pieces by artists whose subjects range from the deeply personal to the overtly political, spanning abstraction and narrative.
The Jundt Art Gallery is open 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Saturday. It is closed Sundays. Admission is free.