Stewart Nachmias: Pulp Icons
Amusement parks, urban life, musicians, puppetry, and personal mandalas are the themes of these cast paper prints created from deeply carved wood blocks, inked directly to act as molds for hand-dyed paper pulp resulting in low-relief prints. Rich color embedded in its dimensional surface highlight the excitement and danger of urban life and whimsical performance with a sense of humor!
These cast paper woodcuts reflect aspects of the artist’s life, transformed into bold, graphic images. The prints show him performing in puppet shows, playing in a rock band, and working as a printmaker. There are mandalas that use a circular format, with each devoted to a single subject including making music and puppeteering. Many of the prints depict an individual in the city, and feature the density and intensity of city life. Urban architecture, with its looming buildings, water tanks and bridges, play a central role in this work. These prints are expressionist in feeling, concentrating on the visual energy of black lines and strong color. They draw from the German Expressionist tradition, which looks at the life around us through the lens of personal emotion.