Harry Reese
Chatwin Arts welcomes a retrospective of the work of Santa Barbara-based artist Harry Reese. Reese’s creative practice includes printmaking, painting, installation, public art works, poetry, letterpress printing, artist’s books, and papermaking. Language is the common denominator of his decades-long pursuits. But in the process of creating book-related projects, Reese took a step sideways into areas that are less tangibly connected to language. His gestural “vernacular media” paintings on polycarbonate plastic CDs and vinyl records, and larger-scale abstracts—all part of our forthcoming exhibition—create visual poetry without words. They articulate looser, less defined examples of color flow and mark making that “speak” in ways words may not do justice.
Also included are examples of Reese’s long-time commitment to experimental printmaking, of which he is considered by many to be one of the nation’s leaders. As the artist recently noted: “One of the guiding principles behind my teaching letterpress printing, papermaking, and book art classes at UC Santa Barbara, in the work that Sandra and I produced for Turkey Press and Edition Reese, and in my own printmaking experiments in the studio can be understood in my paraphrase of an insight of Marshall McLuhan: The new technology turns the old technology into an art form.”
“Harry Reese’s philosophy and work were foundational in the establishment of every aspect of my career and of the Chatwin Arts gallery. Harry’s passion for experimentation and gift for sharing—through teaching, lectures, and exhibits—his techniques and thinking have inspired many artists and makers of artist’s books. Together with his creative partner and wife Sandra Liddell Reese, they have long been beacons of thoughtful, ethical creation, and shining examples of how the honoring of past artistic and artisanal traditions can serve as a great foundation for new creative techniques.” said Chatwin Arts gallery owner, Phil Bevis
Reese taught print, papermaking, book art, and media ecology at UC Santa Barbara from 1978 to 2018. With his partner, Sandra Liddell Reese, Reese continues to produce limited edition books and prints for their Turkey Press and Edition Reese imprints. The early years (1974-1991) of the Turkey Press Archive were purchased by the Getty Research Institute; the following 30+ years of the Archive belong to Stanford University. He has received grants and awards from a number of organizations, including the National Endowment for the Arts, the California Arts Council, the American Institute of Graphic Arts, and the American Printing History Association.
His landmark limited edition portfolio on the first new printmaking method he pioneered, The Sandragraph: Between Printing and Painting, was issued by Arundel Press in 1987. His limited edition artist’s book, Funagainstawake, was published by Granary Books (New York, NY) in 1997. Since 1991, he has worked on temporary and permanent public art projects in California, Arizona, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Florida.
His work is held widely in museums, rare book libraries, and notable collections around the world, including Bibliothèque nationale de France (Paris), Boston Athenaeum, Brown University, Deutsche Bibliothek (Frankfurt), Library of Congress, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Ceil and Michael Pulitzer Foundation (St. Louis), New York Public Library, Ruth & Marvin Sackner Collection (University of Iowa), Victoria and Albert Museum (London), University of Washington, and Yale University.
To purchase any of these pieces, please contact Chatwin Arts directly at info@chatwinarts.com, and we would be happy to help you.
