Natasha Pestich (left) and Carolyn Swiszcz (right)
Exhibition on view: March 8 - April 26, 2024
Opening Reception: Friday, March 8; 6:30 - 9pm
public conversation moderated by special guest Casey Riley: Thursday, April 4; 7 - 8pm
The 2023 McKnight Printmaking Fellowship concludes with the fellowship exhibition at Highpoint. Beginning on March 8, Carolyn and Natasha will welcome visitors into the galleries to view the fruits of their fellowship year. This is an annual highlight on Highpoint’s exhibition calendar, appointment viewing if you will.
Between the outset of the fellowship in and now, a lot has happened beyond simply time spent in the studio. Just before the Thanksgiving holiday, Highpoint brought the poet, artist, and critic John Yau to Minnesota for indivdual studio visits with Carolyn and Natasha. Then in late January, author and art educator Sarah Urist Green braved the Minnesota deep freeze to do the same. Both of these special guests were identified earlier in the fellowship by Carolyn and Natasha as two people that they would like to meet and converse with.
In September, Carolyn and Natasha were honored alongside all the other 2023 McKnight Artist and Culture Bearer Fellows during a special celebration at McKnight Foundation HQ. in the past 12 months, they have also had the opportunity to attend numerous visits to local museums and guided tours of special exhibitions including In Our Hands at Mia and Paul Chan: Breathers at the Walker Art Center.
Here’s what the fellows have been working on:
Using the large intaglio press in the co-op, Carolyn has been making some massive monotypes. She has also been taking advantage of the screenprinting setup. Carolyn said she was enormously inspired by John Yau’s visit which gave her new ideas and encouragement. She is putting the finishing touches on about a dozen works which will be in the exhibition. The series includes some self portraits and images of her family and pets. Recently Carolyn also spent two months as artist in residence at the Northeast Sculpture Gallery Factory, this is where her visit with Sarah Urist Green took place. At the Northeast Sculpture Gallery Factory she had the room needed to spread out to complete her large work on paper inspired by a trip to the Boundary Waters.
She’s been working mostly within screenprinting and monotype, but Natasha is awfully excited to be incorporating her newly acquired papermaking skills into her practice. In the exhibition, she will showcase several distinct series of work that have been in development. Natasha offered this about her fellowship experience: “Over the fellowship year, I have been steeped in an exploration of what home means and where it resides, pulling from my personal experience of eviction. Inspired by the lottery tickets my mom regularly bought and the impromptu fridge collages my Dad forms from real estate ads and images of domestic life, I am seeking to develop a visual lexicon and material sensibility, through handmade paper and printmaking, that allows me to hold onto something while letting go of the things that cannot be changed.” Natasha is also excited to experience a fully-funded artist residency following the fellowship. This benefit is provided to recent fellows by the McKnight Foundation through a partnership with the Artist Communities Alliance.
Don’t forget to join us for a special event on Thursday, April 4 featuring special guest Casey Riley. Casey will be moderating a conversation between Carolyn and Natasha on their practice, their work, and any other related topics that organically arise. The audience will also have the opportunity to ask questions of the artists and Casey during the conversation. Seating is limited but this event is free, free, free.
Casey RIley oversees Mia’s department of Global Contemporary Art and the research, exhibition, and publication of the museum’s renowned collection of art after 1970. Her curatorial practices are rooted in collaboration and informed by the principles of inclusion and equity. Recent projects at Mia include “Objectivity: Metaphorical and Material Lives of Photographs,” “Dayanita Singh: Pothi Khana,” “Hindsight: American Documentary Photography 1930-1950,” “Vision 2020: Jess Dugan,” “Just Kids,” and “Strong Women, Full of Love: The Photography of Meadow Muska.” In partnership with Mia colleagues and a curatorial council of fourteen artists, scholars, and knowledge sharers, she is co-organizing a survey of works by First Nations, Metis, Inuit, and Native American photographic artists, opening at Mia in October 2023.
Highpoint would like to once again thank Andrea Carlson (visual artist) and Alexis Lowry (Curator at Dia Art Foundation, New York) for providing their expert insight in reviewing the applications for the 2023 fellowship. We’d also like to thank John Yau (poet, critic, artist) and Sarah Urist Green (curator and art educator) for taking time out of their busy schedules to travel to Minnesota for meetings with Carolyn and Natasha
The McKnight Printmaking Fellowships are open Minnesota artist/printmakers who are at a career stage that is “beyond emerging” — defined here as artists who demonstrate a sustained level of accomplishment, commitment, and artistic excellence. Fellows are selected on the basis of the artistic merit of their work, and their dedication, interest, and contributions to Minnesota’s arts ecosystem.