Julie Shapiro: Interleave, which will include recent prints, painting, and drawings,

opens at the Knox Gallery on August 5.

In 2019 Shapiro, a longtime Monterey resident, champion and co-director of

Knox Gallery, began to work with master printer Marjorie VanDyke at VanDeb

Editions in Long Island City, NYC. Working on copper plates, the artist used a

variety of etching techniques to create a series of prints over several sessions.

There came a point, due to the pandemic, that VanDeb edition’s studio was

closed, and Shapiro was not able to freely travel back and forth to New York. She was

therefore forced to put the print work on hold. She returned to her ongoing Monterey

studio work developing new drawings and paintings. As frustrating as this interruption

was to her project, she notes that her “work on the prints seemed to have importantly

influenced” her studio work. Shapiro’s pandemic-spanning prints, primarily a series

called “Peeling Orange,” form the center of this exhibition. 

Likewise, when she was able to return to the VanDeb Editions in the spring,

she found that the studio work over the two intervening years strongly impacted her

printmaking concepts and development.

The show’s title, “Interleave,” is a transitive verb defined as “to

place layers or flat pieces of something between layers or flat pieces of something else;

to combine different things so that parts of one thing are put between parts of

another thing.”   The artist explains that “In putting together a portfolio of prints, one

often places “interleaving” [a noun, meaning “thin sheets of acid free paper”] between

prints for protection.  The word seemed appropriate to a show that focuses on this

group of prints, but that also includes paintings and drawings that were done in-

between.”

Shapiro will speak about her work at 5:30 on Friday, August 5, and will be

available to answer questions afterwards. At present, masks are required in the library,

but we encourage visitors to check current Covid protocols before attending any of

our events. (We hope that before the end of the show – September 10 -- Covid is

calm enough for the Knox Gallery to host a closing reception for this exhibit!)

The artist gratefully cites that the Martha Boschen Porter Grant from the

Berkshire Taconic Foundation enabled her to make this series of prints, which

necessitated a professional print shop. She has been working in printmaking for many

years; she has exhibited widely, been awarded numerous visiting artist and residency

positions, and has always wanted to work with a master printer. The Berkshire

Taconic Foundation grant enabled her to realize that goal. The experience,

understanding, and ideas she gained through this opportunity will surely enrich her

work in all mediums in years to come. We look forward to her work’s continued

evolution.

We are grateful to the Monterey Cultural Council and the Massachusetts

Cultural Council, which support our artists’ talks.